LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

I^ttii 
©]jap ©ajpjrigljt f o. 

Shelf. W_5> • 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 



WHITM'S MODERN LANGUAGE BOOKS. 



FRENCH. 



A FRENCH GRAMMAR. With Exercises and Illustrative 
Sentences from French Authors. i2mo, 442 pp. 

PRACTICAL FRENCH. Taken from the Author's larger 
Grammar, and Supplemented by Conversations and Idio- 
matic Phrases. i2mo, 304 pp. 

BRIEF FRENCH GRAMMAR. i6mo, 177 pp. 

GERMAN. 

A COMPENDIOUS GERMAN GRAMMAR. i2mo, 303 pp. 
BRIEF GERMAN GRAMMAR. i6mo, 143 pp. 
GERMAN READER. i2mo, 523 pp. 
GERMAN-ENGLISH DICTIONARY. 8vo, 900 pages. 
GERMAN TEXTS. Edited by Prof. W. D. Whitney. 
Lessing's Minna von Barnhelm. Annotated by W. D. Whit- 
ney, Prof, in Yale College. i6mo, 138 pp. 
Schiller's Wilhelm Tell. Annotated by Prof. A. Sachtleben, 

of Charleston, S. C. i6mo, 199 pp. 
Goethe's Faust. Annotated by Wm. Cook. i6mo, 229 pp. 
Goethe's Iphigenie auf Tauris. Annotated by Prof. Franklin 

Carter, Williams College. i6mo, 113 pp. 
Schiller's Maria Stuart. Annotated by E. S. Joynes, Prof, in 

University of South Carolina. i6mo, 222 pp. 
Lessing's Nathan der Weise. Annotated by H. C. G. Brandt, 
Prof, in Hamilton College. i6mo, 158 pp. 

WHITNEY-KLEMM GERMAN SERIES. 

By William D. Whitney and L. R. Klemm. 
GERMAN BY PRACTICE. i2mo, 305 pp. 
ELEMENTARY GERMAN READER. i2mo, 237 pp. 



HENRY HOLT & CO., Publishers, NEW YORK. 



A BRIEF 



FRENCH GRAMMAR 



BY 



WILLIAM DWIGHT WHITNEY 

PROFESSOR IN YALE UNIVERSITY, AUTHOR OP " PRACTICAL FRENCH 
GRAMMAR/' "PRACTICAL FRENCH," ETC. 





A 



-3-c 



NEW YORK 

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 

F. W. CHRISTERN 
Boston : Carl Schoenhop 






\ 

S3 



Copyright, 1891, 

BY 

HENRY HOLT & CO. 



Robert Drummond, 

Electrotyper and Printer, 

New York. 



PREFACE. 



This work has been prepared in response to a call 
for a grammar which should do for French what the 
author's Brief German Grammar does for German: 
namely, present the most important facts of the 
language in the briefest form consistent with accuracy 
and clearness of statement. Much of the material of 
this book has been used in the author's larger French 
Grammar, but the arrangement is here entirely differ- 
ent, the treatment of the irregular verbs especially 
being much condensed. 

The exercises will of course be used by each teacher 
in accordance with the needs and capacities of his 
class; but, where an immediate advance to reading is 
desired, the English-French exercises may with ad- 
vantage be omitted until the grammar is gone over 
for the second time. The selected sentences at the 
end, all of which are taken from the works of French 
authors of established reputation, will be found of 
value for further grammatical drill. If a more fully 
developed set of exercises is desired, they may be 
found in the author's Practical French. 

W. D. W. 

New Haven, December, 1890. 

iii 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



The references are to sections, except where pages are indicated. 

Alphabet, §§ 1-3 

Accents, 5-10 

Pronunciation, 10-70 

Vowels, 11-33; nasal vowels, 34-41; consonants, 
42-67; linking or carrying on of final consonants, 
68-70. 

Nouns and Articles, 71-103 

Number and geuder, 71-74 ; use of articles, 75-84; 
plural of nouns, 85 ; nouns with de and a, 86-94 ; 
partitive noun, 95-100 ; inclusive noun, 101-2 ; 
proper names, 103. 

Adjectives, 104-119 

Gender and number, 104-109 ; position, 110-114 ; 
comparison, 115-119. 

Numerals, 120-129 

Cardinals, 120-125 ; ordinals, 126-129. 

Pronouns, 130-182 

Personal pronouns, 130-145 ; possessives, 146-152 ; 
demonstratives, 153-158 ; interrogatives, 159-166 ; 
realtives, 167-177 ; indefinites, 178-182. 

Verbs, 183-228 

Simple forms, 183-185 ; auxiliaries avoir and etre, 
186-197; principal parts, 198-199 ; first conjugation, 
200-206 ; second conjugation, 207-208 ; third con- 
jugation, 209-210 ; passive verbs, 211-214 ; reflexive 
verbs, 215-221 ; impersonal verbs, 222-226 ; irregu- 
lar verbs, 227-228. 

Y 



VI 



CONTENTS. 



Adverbs, g§ 229-234 

Adverbs from adjectives, 235-240 ; adverbs of nega- 
tion, 241-247. 

Prepositions, . . . 243-254 

Conjunctions, 25.1-257 

Subject and Object 258-262 

Forms of Conjugation, 263-285 

Indicative tenses, 263-266; conditional, 267; sub- 
junctive, 268-274 ; imperative, 275 ; infinitive, 276- 
283 ; participles, 284-285. 
Selected Sentences, .... pages 145-1 53 
French English Vocabulary, . . " 154-167 

English-French Vocabulary, . . " 169-173 

List op Irregular Verbs, ... " 175-176 

Index, . . " 177-179 



List of Exercises. 



1. Articles and nouns, page 25 

2. Partitive and inclusive uses of noun, . . " 30 

3. Adjectives, "36 

4. Comparison of adjectives and numerals, . . " 43 

5. Personal and possessive pronouns, . . •' 52 

6. Demonstrative and interrogative pronouns, . " 59 

7. Relative and indefinite pronouns, . . " 65 

8. Avoir, •*-• 72 

9. Etre, '76 

10. Verbs of 1st conjugation, " 84 

11. Verbs of 2d and 3d conjugation, . . . u 90 

12. Passive, reflexive, and impersonal verbs, . u 98 
13-15. Exercises on the most used irregular verbs, . " 115 

16. Adverbs and prepositions, " 128 

17. Conjunctions, subject and object, and indicative 

tenses, " 184 

18. Subjunctive and imperative, . , •'* 139 

19. Infinitives and participles, . . , . . 143 



CONTENTS. Vll 

List of Sets of Selected Sentences. 

1. Articles and nouns, page 145 

2. Adjectives and numerals, ei 146 

3. Personal and possessive pronouns, . . . " 146 

4. Demonstratives, relatives, interrogatives, and indefi 

nites, ....... " 147 

5. Passive, reflexive, and impersonal verbs, . . " 148 

6. Adverbs and negative expressions, . . . " 149 

7. Prepositions and conjunctions, . . . . '* 150 

8. Subject and object, " 150 

9. Tenses of the indicative, . . . . " 151 

10. Subjunctive and imperative, . . . . '• 151 

11. Infinitive and participles, " 15& 



A BRIEF FRENCH GRAMMAR. 



ALPHABET AND PEONUNCIATION. 

ALPHABET. 

1. The French alphabet is the same with the 

English. 

a. But the letters k and w occur only in a few words, 
borrowed out of other languages. 

2. The letters of the alphabet and their names 
are as follows (the names pronounced as French 
words): 



a a 


h ache 





u u 


b be* 


i i 


ppe 


v ve 


c ce* 


J ji 


q ku 


w double v6 


d d6 


k ka 


r erre 


x iks 


e 6 


1 elle 


s esse 


y i grec 


f effe 
gg6 


m emrne 
n enne 


tte 


z zed 



a. In reading and spelling, however, it is now common 
to name each consonant by its own sound followed by a 
mute e (14), which is pronounced only just enough to let 
the character of the consonant be distinguished : thus, for 
b, be instead of be ; for g, gue or je (according as the g is 
hard or soft) instead of ge ; and so on. But when any 
letter is named by itself, it is always by the name given in 
the above table. 



2 ALPHABET. [3 

3. Use of Capitals. — As regards the use of 
capitals, French agrees in general with English, 
but with the following important exceptions : 

a. An adjective derived from a proper name 

does not take a capital when used as an adjective, 

but only when it has the value of a noun. 

Thus, un livre frangais a French book, but un 
Frangais a Frenchman ; des chevaux americains Ameri- 
can horses, but des Americains Americans. 

b. The names of the days of the week and of 
the months are not written with capitals in 
French. 

Thus, lundi Monday, juin June. 

c. The word for I, namely je, is not written 
with a capital. 

DIVISION OF SYLLABLES. 

4. The rules as to how a French word is to be 
divided into syllables are of much practical im- 
portance in their bearing on the mute e and on 
the nasal vowels. 

a. A single consonant between vowels always 

belongs to the following vowel. 

Thus,fi-ni, ai-me-rai, de-cou-ra-ger, g£-ne"-reu-se-ment, 
i-ni-mi-ta-bi-li-te. 

i. Also two consonants, if they are such as may 

begin a French word, belong to the following 

vowel. 

Thus, a-pres, re"-gler, a-bri, e-clos, a-droit, tre-fle, 
ou-tre, ou-vris. 

c. A consonant digraph, or group of two consonants rep- 
resenting a single sound, is treated as if one consonant 



9] ORTHOGRAPHIC MARKS. 3 

only; such are ch, ph, th, gn : thus, a-che-ter, pro-phe-ti-e, 
pa-the-ti-que, a-gneau. 



ACCENTS AND OTHEE OKTHOGKAPHIC MARKS. 

5. Three accent-marks are used in French, 
and constitute a part of the necessary written 
form of French words. They are the acute 
accent, as in 6t6, cr66 ; the GRAvfe accent, as in 
dfcs, 1&, oil ; and the circumflex accent, as in pate, 
fete, ile, hote, futes. 

6. The cedilla is a mark placed under a c 
(thus, c), to give it its soft or s-sound before the 
vowels a, o, u (where it would otherwise be pro- 
nounced hard, like k) : thus, plaea, facon, recu, c'a. 

7. The dleresis (Fr. tr6ma) is a double dot, 
set (as sometimes also in English) over a vowel 
which is to be pronounced separately from a pre- 
ceding vowel, not forming with it a diphthong : 
thus, hair (i.e. ha-ir), oui (i.e. ou-i). 

8. The apostrophe shows, as in English, the 
loss of a final vowel which has been cut off be- 
fore another vowel : thus, 1'ami, s'il. 

a. The vowel thus cut off is almost always e ; 
but in a few cases it is a or i. 

9. The hyphen is used, as in English, but 
more frequently and strictly, between parts of 
words, and whole words regarded as having an 
especially close connection with one another. 
The cases where it is required will be stated 
below. 



4 ALPHABET. [10 

ACCENT. 

10. a. The actual accent, or stress of voice on 
one of the syllables of a word of two or more syl- 
lables, rests in French on the last syllable that is 
fully pronounced — i.e. that does not have as its 
vowel a mute e. 

Thus, palais', mala'de, maladroit', maladroi'te, m£lan- 
coli'e, indubita'ble, reconcilier', reconcilie'rent, indivisi- 
bilite'. 

6. But the stress of voice is very slight. In gen- 
eral, the syllables of a French word (except those 
containing a mute e) are uttered with equal dis- 
tinctness and nearly even stress. 

c. This evenness of utterance, and equal distinctness of 
vowel sound in all the syllables of a word, is one of the 
most striking peculiarities of French pronunciation as com- 
pared with English, and cannot be too much insisted on and 
practised. 

PEONUNCIATION OF THE VOWELS. 

11. Quantity. — There is no strongly-marked 
distinction of long and short vowels in French, 
such as there is in English (and in German). 
French vowels are in general short, though some- 
times a little prolonged — of tenest before a final 
pronounced r, and when circumflexed. 

12. A, a. — This vowel has nearly the open 
sound of English a in far or father; but it is gen- 
erally a little flattened, like English a in flat, cap, 
jack, only not quite so much so : thus, ira, la, a, 
plat, drap > car, ami, animal, malade, place. 



15] PRONUNCIATION OF THE VOWELS. 5 

13. E, e. — This vowel has in French a greater 
variety of written form and of pronunciation than 
any other, being written as e, 6, 6, e, and pro- 
nounced with a mute, a closer, and an opener 
sound. 

14. Mute or Silent e. — a. A simple e (one 
without accent-sign) standing at the end of a syl- 
lable has the ^p-called "mute" or "silent" value 
(e muet) : that is, it is pronounced as briefly and 
lightly as possible, and what sound it has is like 
that of English u in hut or hurt. 

6. The sound is quite precisely that in English the before 
a consonant in real colloquial utterance : thus, " tell us the 
name of the man." Examples are le, me, de, te-nir, re- 
gard, re-gar-de, re-le-va, ra-me-na, en-ne-mi. In many 
situations — especially at the end of a word of more than 
one syllable, as table, rare, machine, abortive— it is in 
ordinary utterance entirely silent ; but still it makes theo- 
retically a syllable (thus, ra-re, ma-chi-ne, a-bor-ti-ve), 
which counts as such in poetry, and in singing must be 
uttered as much as any other syllable. In learning French 
pronunciation, the pupil must first be able to give the right 
sound to the vowel, and then duly to slight or omit it. 

c. The same sound belongs also to the e of es at the end 
of a word (excepting in the monosyllables les, des, ces, mes, 
tes, ses), and to that of ent at the end of the 3d pers. 
plural of a verb : thus, rares, machines, certes, donnes, 
donnent, regardent, donnassent. 

d. The e of je, 1", when following the verb, is completely 
silent, in the same manner as at the end of a word of more 
than one syllable : thus, ai-je, have If pronounced as if 
written aige ; suis-je, am If as if suige ; and so on. 

15. The acute and grave accents, as used on 
e, are signs giving it a full pronunciation where 
otherwise it would be mute. No 6 or h is ever 
written unless without the accent the e would 



6 ALPHABET. [16 

(by the rules of the preceding paragraph) have 
its mute value. 

16. As between the acute and grave, the gen- 
eral rule is that the grave is written if a next 
following syllable in the same word is a mute 
one ; otherwise, the acute. 

Thus, pe-re, che-re, le-ve, ce-de, me-ne-rai, pe-le-rin, 
but ce-der, ce da, ce-de, ce-le-bri te; and de-ce-de, ce-le- 
bre, ce-le-brent, pre-fe-res, te-ne-bres. # 

17. It is to be noted that the occurrence of 
two successive mute syllables in the same word 
is generally avoided. Thus, no word is ever 
composed of, or ends in, two mute syllables ; nor 
do two often come together in the middle of a 
word ; at the beginning they are not quite so rare 
(especially when re or de is prefixed to a verb 
already beginning with a mute syllable, as venir, 
revenir, devenir, and even redevenir). And no 
w r ord ever begins with a mute e. 

a. Heuce, such words as leve, mene, chere, complete, 
appeles, menes, cheres, or (as 3d pi. of a verb) levent, 
menent, are impossible in French ; and wherever they 
would occur in the regular processes of word-formation or 
inflection, the concurrence of the two mute syllables is 
avoided by giving a full pronunciation to the first. This is 
oftenest done by writing the grave accent over it : thus, 
leve, mene, chere, complete, menes, menent — but some- 
times by doubling the consonant (if it be 1 or nort) instead: 
thus, belle (bel-le), appelles, sienne, prennent (3d pi.), 
nette. 

18. The e with acute accent, or 6, has the 
sound of English so-called "long a," in day and 
they, and the like (yet without the vanishing 



24] PRONUNCIATION OF THE VOWELS. 7 

sound of " long e" with which our " long a" 
usually ends). It is called the close e (e ferm6). 

19. The e with grave accent, or fc, has an 
opener sound, nearly like our " short e," in 
ebb, send, and the like ; and it even in some 
cases, especially before a following r, approaches 
our still opener sound of e in there and the like. 
It is called the open e (e ouvert). 

20. The e with circumflex accent, or §, has the 
open sound, like fc. 

21. An e that is followed by a consonant in 
the same syllable (whether that consonant be 
pronounced or silent) is not mute, but has either 
the closer sound of 6 or the opener of 6. 

22. E in a few words has an irregular pronunciation : 
a. It is pronounced as an a would be, before n and m, in 

femme woman, solennel solemn and its derivatives, and 
adverbs ending in -eminent, and a few other words. 

6. It is sometimes used after g merely as a device for 
showing that the g is to have its soft sound, being itself not 
pronounced : thus, mangeai, mangeons, gageure. 

c. The final mute e of a monosyllable is gen- 
erally cut off before a vowel, and replaced by an 
apostrophe. 

23. I, i. — The vowel i has in French always 
the sound (as regards quality) of English " long 
e," or of i in the words machine, pique. 

Thus, il, ri, vite, ici, midi, defini, divise, visibility. 

24. 0, o. — a. The vowel o has in general the 
sound of the English o in note (but without the 
vanishing sound of oo, in which the English "long 
o" usually ends). 



8 ALPHABET. [25 

It is so pronounced especially when it is cireumflexed, or 
is the final sound of a word : thus, cdte, ndtre, r61e, 
trone, mot, cachot, trop, nos. 

b. But in many words o has an opener sound, 
approaching that of English o in not (or midway 
between that and the o of come); and before a 
final r-sound it comes near to our o in nor. 

Thus, robe, mode, Rome, dogue, e"cole, dorer, notre, 
porter, occuper, modeste ; and or, mort, corps. 

25. TJ, u. — The French u has a sound unlike 
anything in English (but precisely agreeing with 
that of the German "modified u" or "u with 
umlaut,' 9 written u). It is produced by a combina- 
tion of that position of the tongue with which ee 
(as in meet) is made with that position of the lips 
with which oo (as in moot) is made. Fix the 
tongue, then, to say ee, and, without moving it, 
round the lips as if to say oo, and the product is 
the sound desired. 

Thus, vu, du, nul, pure, sure, sucre, minute, fe"rule, 
occuper, multitude, minuscule. 

a. U is generally silent after q ; for the exceptions, see 
under q. 

b. U is also regularly silent after g, when itself followed 
by another vowel, usually e or i, except when the following 
e or i has the diaeresis : thus, guerre, guide, langue, lon- 
gueur, fatigue, fatigue, voguer, vogua, voguons. 

26. Y, y. — The sound of y, when it is the 
vowel of a syllable, is the same with that of i : 
thus, y, style, systeme, syllabe, physique, Yves. 

27. A y between two vowels has the value of 
double i, or i-i, one of the i's belonging to the 



31] PRONUNCIATION OF THE VOWELS. 9 

vowel of the preceding syllable, the other (as a 
brief y-like prefix) to that of the following sylla- 
ble. 

Thus, essayer is pronounced as if written essai-ier; 
appuyer, as if appui-ier ; envoyer, as if envoi-ier ; and so 
on. 

a. The same value belongs to the y in pays (pronounced 
as if written pai-is), and its derivatives paysage, paysan. 

6. A y is not allowed as final, nor in general before 
mute e ; and, both in derivation and in inflection, the inter- 
change of i and y, according as final or not, and as a mute 
e or any fully pronounced vowel follows, is very common : 
thus, joie, joyeux ; roi, royal ; aie, ayons, ayez, aient ; 
appuie, appuies, appuyons, appuyez, appuient; and so 
on. 

28. There are a few very common combina- 
tions of two vowels (or three), which represent 
for the most part simple sounds, but which are 
commonly called diphthongs ; they are ai and ei, 
an (and eau), eu (and ceu), ou, and oi. 

a. It is to be noticed that real diphthongal sounds, like 
those in English file, foul, foil, are altogether wanting in 
French. 

29. Ai and ei. — These compounds have no 
other sounds than those of e when not mute, or 
of 6 or b. 

30. Au and eau are pronounced as o would be 
in the same situation. 

Thus, au, eau, beau, beaute, tombeau, chevaux, aurai, 
Maure. 

31. Eu has a peculiar sound, nearly like that 
of English u in fur, hurt (or nearly like Ger- 
man o). It is opener in jeune, leur, aveugle, etc.; 
and closer in jeune, neutre, heureux, feu, veux, etc. 



10 ALPHABET. [32 

32. 0u. — The combination ou is everywhere 

pronounced like English oo, in pool, boon, etc. 

Thus, ou, ou, cou, bout, hiboux, coupe, source, courte, 
joujou, douloureux. 

33. Oi. — The combination oi, which is ex- 
tremely common in French, is everywhere pro- 
nounced like the English iva in was (not with the 
broader sound of wa in water). 

Thus, moi, soi, foi, oiseau, toile, ploie, cloitre, crois, 
trois, adroite, froideur, proie. 

NASAL VOWELS. 

34. If a vowel, simple or compound, is fol- 
lowed in the same syllable by n or m, the n or m 
loses its separate pronunciation, and the vowel 
itself is made nasal. 

a. A nasal vowel is one that is pronounced partly through 
the mouth and partly through the nose : that is, while the 
mouth-organs are fixed as in the utterance of an ordinary 
vowel, the passage from the mouth into the nose is also 
opened, so that a part of the expelled air goes through the 
nose and resounds there, giving a nasal twang to the vowel- 
tone. Beginners may help accustom themselves to recog- 
nize and produce this nasal twang by shutting the nose 
with the fingers, in which case the nasality becomes es- 
pecially loud and conspicuous. 

b. In learning to pronounce the nasal vowels, the fault 
especially to be avoided is the shutting of the mouth-organs 
after the vowel-sound, so as to end it with anything like an 
n or ?^-sound. A habit of so doing, if once formed, is ex- 
tremely hard to get rid of. Better than this is to leave the 
vowel at first unnasalized, hoping to learn by degrees to 
give it the right quality. 

35. There are in French four nasal vowels, or 
nasalized vowel-sounds. They are very nearly 



38] NASAL VOWELS. 11 

those heard in the English words wan, song, sang, 
and sung, or on, pawn, pan, and pun — as these 
would be if the n- and rzgr-sounds in them were 
not separately uttered, but had their nasal tone 
as it were absorbed into the vowel itself. 

36. The nasalized vowel-sound of English wan 

or on belongs in French to an and am, and to en 

and em. 

Thus, an, pan, banc, quand, lance, manger, 6branler, 
banquet, anse, ayant, vanter; camp, lampe, ample, 
chambre ; en, dent, enfant, pente, prudence, genre ; 
temps, trempe, remplir, membre, embleme. 

37. The nasalized vowel-sound of English 

pawn or song belongs in French to on and om. 

Thus, on, non, done, long, plonge, annonce, conter, 
ronde; nom, plomb, tomber, romps, rompre, combler, 
comte. So also action and the like. 

38. a. The nasalized vowel-sound of English 

sang or pan belongs in French especially to in 

and im. 

Thus, vin, vint, vinrent, vinsse, pincer, Inde, ingrat; 
imbu, timbre, simple, impur. 

b. The same sound belongs to the compound 

vowels ai and ei with following n or m. 

Thus, sain, sainte, craindre ; faim, essaim ; sein, serein, 
peindre, peinture. 

c. The oi of oin has not its ordinary value, but the in of 
it has the regular nasal sound of in, to which the o gives a 
prefix like a w. Thus, loin, moins, ointe, oindre, joindre, 
accointance. 

d. Final en after i (or y), and en everywhere after i in 
the forms of the verbs tenir and venir, has the sound of 
in : thus, rien, bien, sien, moyen (pronounced as moi-ien), 
tiens, viendra. 



12 ALPHABET. [39 

39. The nasalized vowel-sound of sung or pun 

belongs in French to un, urn, and eun. 

Thus, un, bran, tribun, defunt, lundi, emprunter ; par- 
fum, humble ; jeun. 

40. If the n or m is followed by a vowel, the 
preceding vowel is of course not nasal, because 
the n or m is not in the same syllable with it. 

Thus, tenir, semer, honorer, une, inutile (divided te-nir, 
ho-no-rer, i-nu- tile, etc.); also inhumain, inhabite, etc. 
(the h being silent, and not counting as a consonant : see 
50c). 

a. But in enivrer and enorgueillir and their derivatives 
the e is nasal. 

41. Also when the n or m is doubled, the pre- 
ceding vowel is not nasal. 

Thus, annee, hebamme, tienne, ennemi, femme, lionne, 
homme, innocent, immoler. 

a. But in ennui and its derivatives, in ennoblir, also in 
emmener, and most other words beginning with emm 
(from en-m), the e is nasal. 

PRONUNCIATION OF THE CONSONANTS. 

42. General Rules. — a. Final consonants, 

either one or more than one, are in general silent 

at the end of a French word. 

Thus, pied, trop, les, fait, prix, maux, nez; plomb, 
rand, pieds, draps, romps, faits, doigt, vingt, vents, 
vends, instincts. 

b. But final c, f, 1, and r are usually pronounced. 

Thus, sec, avec, tic, bloc, sue, turc ; fief, vif, neuf ; bal, 
cruel, vol, seul ; par, fer, finir, or, sur, martyr. 

43. B, b. — The letter b is pronounced as in Eng- 
lish. 

Thus, beau, bien, robe, barbier, bombe, subtil. 



46] PRONUNCIATION OF THE CONSONANTS 13 

44. C, c. — This consonant has in French, as 
in English, two sounds : a soft sound, like s ; and 
a hard sound, like Jc. 

As to ch, see the next paragraph. 

a. C is soft before e and i (or y), and the com- 
pound vowels in which e or i is first (ei, eu, ie). 

Thus, ce, ceci, ici, place, proces, douce, ceint, ceux, 
adoucie, ciel, cymbale. 

b. In all other situations — before other vowels, 

before consonants, and as final — c has its hard 

sound. 

Thus, car, caisse, cause, col, coeur, cour, cure, cuir; 
croc, clair ; lac, sec, tic, roc, due. 

c. C is soft also before a, o, u, if it has the cedilla : thus, 
pla^a, pla^ons, recu. 

d. The c of second and its derivatives is pronounced like g. 

e. Final c (usually pronounced : 426) is silent after a nasal 
vowel : thus, blinc, vainc; also after r in clerc, pore, etc.; 
and in estomac, tabac, broc, croc, and a few other words. 

45. Ch, ch. — This combination has in French 

regularly and usually the sound of English sh, or 

ch in macmnc, 

Thus, chasse, chaise, chaud, chez, cochon, choux, choix, 
chute, chuinter, hache, recherche, chuchoter, ponche. 

a. But there are many words of foreign origin (chiefly 
Greek) in which ch has the sound of k. Thus, always be- 
fore a consonant, as Christ, Chretien, chronique, techno- 
logies chloral, fuchsia, yacht ; — but often also before a 
vowel, as in archange, choeur, orchestre, echo, and other 
less common words ; and in proper names, as Chaldee, 
Bacchus, Antiochus, Moloch, Munich, Michel- Ange. 

46. D, d. — This consonant is pronounced as 

in English. 

Thus, de, des, dedire, dindon, droit, guide, mode, 
poudre, plaindre. 



14 ALPHABET. [47 

47. F, f. — This consonant is pronounced as in 

English. 

Thus, faux, feu, fou, fleur, froid, fief, sauf, affaire, for- 
fait, serf, neuf. 

a. Final f (usually pronounced : 426) is silent in clef key, 
in the chef of chef-d'oeuvre, in the plurals oeufs, boeufs, 
nerfs (though pronounced in the singular of these words). 
Also the f of neuf nine is siLnt before an initial con- 
sonant of a word numbered by it : thus, neuf livres, neuf 
cents (not in le neuf Janvier Jan. Wi, neuf par an nine 
a year, etc.). 

48. G, g. — This consonant has in French, as in 
English, two sounds : a soft sound, like English 
z in azure or s in pleasure ; and a hard sound, like 
English g in gig. 

a. G has its soft sound before the vowels e, i, y. 

Thus, gele, gele, genie, geindre, orageux, gilet, bougie, 
gymnase. 

b. In other situations — before any other vowel 
than e, i, y, and before a consonant — g has its 
hard sound. 

c. In order to preserve the soft sound of a g, when in the 
changes of inflection or derivation it would come to stand 
before a or o or u, an e (not itself pronounced) is often 
written after it : thus, from manger come mangeant, 
mange ons, mangeure. 

49. The combination gn has in general a pe- 
culiar liquid sound, nearly like English ny in 
lanyard or ni in union. 

Thus, gagner, regner, regne, ligne, cicogne, re*pugne, 
cygne, magnifique, ignorant, rognon, seigneur. 

50. H, h. — This consonant is not pronounced 
in French ; no such sound as the English h should 
ever be heard in any French word. 



53] PRONUNCIATION OF THE CONSONANTS. 15 

a. But there is a considerable number of words 
in which an initial h, though now silent, is treat- 
ed as if it were still pronounced — namely, by 
the absence before it of the elision (22c), of the 
carrying-on of a final consonant (68), etc. Such 
an initial h is called " aspirate h," the other being 
called, for distinction, " mute or silent h." 

6. Initial aspirate h is generally marked in the diction- 
aries with an inverted apostrophe — thus, 'haie, 'heros, 
'honte, etc. ; and the same method will be followed in this 
work in the vocabularies. 

c. The silent initial h is treated as if it had no 
existence, or as if the word actually began with 
the following vowel ; the aspirate initial h is 
treated like any other consonant. 

Thus, l'homme like 1'ombre, cet homme like cet ombre, 
son heure like son euphonie, etc. ; but, le hasard, ce heros, 
sa harpe, etc. 

51. J, j. — This consonant has in French in- 
variably the sound of English z in azure, or s in 
pleasure (the same as soft g : 48a). 

Thus, jamais, je, jeu, joie, joujou, juge, juif. 

52. K, k. — This consonant occurs in French 
only in a few borrowed words ; it has the sound 
of English k. 

Thus, kilometre, kepi, kermesse, kiosque. 

a. Theft-sound is represented in French words by c hard 
(44), by ch (45), and by qu (58a). 

53. L, 1. — This consonant, except when liquid, 
is pronounced in French as in English. 



16 ALPHABET. [53 

Thus, le, la, lilie, loi, lui, lucre, lamelle, folle, nul, 
table, boucle, souffle, ebranle, simple, hurle. 

54. An 1 following i in the same syllable is 

generally made liquid — that is, it is pronounced 

as a close y. 

Thus, cil, babil, mil, millet, avril, peril, gresil, fille, 
cedille, billard, artillerie, guillotine, barbillon. 

a. If the i before 1 is preceded by another vowel, simple 
or compound, that vowel has its own sound, not forming a 
compound with the i, the latter's sole office being to show 
the liquid sound of the 1 : thus, travail, travailler, con- 
seil, conseiller, vieil, vieillir, seuil, feuille, feuillage, 
houille, houilleur. And ue (after c or g) and oe before 
liquid il have the sound of eu : thus, accueil, orgueil, 
ceil. 

b. But final 1 is silent after i in a number of words. The 
commonest of these are : baril barrel, fusil gun, outil 
tool, sourcil eyebrow; also 1 in fils son, and the plural 
genstilshommes gentlemen (in gentilhomme it is liquid ; 
also in gentil nice, except at the end of a sentence or when 
followed by a consonant, when it is silent). 

c. Final 1 has the proper 1-sound after i in a number of 
words : thus, il he, fil thread, mil thousand, Nil Nile, 
vil, civil, exil, profil, subtil, viril, pueril, volatil; further, 
according to the more usual pronunciation, in cil, avril, 
and peril (pronounced also with liquid or with silent 1). 

d. At the beginning of a word, ill is not liquid : thus, 
illatif, illegal, illimite, illogique, illustre. 

e. Double 1 after i has the full 1-sound also in the in- 
terior and at the end of a number of words : thus, ville 
town, mille thousand, tranquille, pupille ward, distiller 
distil, vaciller vacillate, pusillanime, axillaire axillary 
(with their compounds and derivatives), and a few others. 

55. M, m. — Except where it makes the preced- 
ing vowel nasal, and is itself not pronounced (34 
etc.), m lias the same sound in French as in Eng- 
lish. 



59] PRONUNCIATION OF THE CONSONANTS. 17 

Thus, me, ma, m§me, moi, meurt, mur, femme, homme, 
immemore, hymne. 

56. N, n. — Except where it makes the preced- 
ing vowel nasal, and is itself not pronounced (34 
etc.), n has the same sound in French as in Eng- 
lish. 

Thus, nappe, naine, ne, neuf, nid, non, noir, nouveau, 
nul, nuire, bonne, brune. 

57. P, p. — This consonant is in general pro- 
nounced as in English. 

Thus, pape, pere, peuple, pourpre, pur, puits, plaire, 
pre, frapper, huppe, soupe. 

a. p is silent before t in sept, septieme, baptime, 
compter and a few other words. 

58. ft, q. — This consonant is almost always 
followed in French, as in English, by u ; but in 
French the u is generally silent, and the com- 
bination qu has the sound of k. 

Thus, quatre, quai, que, queue, quelque, qui, quint, 
quotidien, quoique, calquer, vainquis, vainquons. 

a. A hard k- sound before e or i cannot be written in 
French except by qu ; and hence qu sometimes takes the 
place of c in inflection and derivation when e or i is added : 
thus, vainquez, vainquent, vainquis, from vaincre ; 
turque, from turc ; caduque, from caduc. 

b. But in a number of French words qu has the same 
sound as in English : thus, quadrat, equestre. 

59. R, r. — This consonant is always more or 

less rolled or trilled in French, and so is made 

much more distinct than in ordinary English 

pronunciation. 

Thus, rare, frere, rire, parure, roi, trois, croix, partir, 
porteur, arbre, meurtre, bruit, grand, pres, vrai, arri- 
verai. 



18 ALPHABET. [60 

a. A final r is regularly pronounced (426); but 

it is usually silent after e in words of more than 

one syllable. 

Thus, silent in fier (verb), aimer, parler, 16ger, entier, 
officier, etc.; pronounced in cher, fer, fier (adj.), hier, 
mer, etc., and, before other silent finals, in clerc, perd, 
perds, cerf, tiers, sert, etc. 

b. Final r is also pronounced after e in the words of more 
than one syllable, amer bitter, cancer, cuiller spoon, 
enfer hell, hiver winter, and a few foreign words, chiefly 
proper names, as magister, Jupiter, Esther. 

c. Final r is silent in monsieur, messieurs. 

d. In the future and conditional of the verbs courir run, 
mourir die, querir ask, and their compounds, the double 
r is distinctly to be heard as two separator's: thus, courrai, 
mourrais, acquerront. 

60. S, s. — This consonant is in general pro- 
nounced with the sound which it ordinarily has 
in English (in our words sense, sister, etc.). 

Thus, sa, se, si, son, sur, espace, estime, poste, prisme, 
fiasque, disparu, descriptif, transcrire, anse, penser. 

a. But s between two vowels has the sound of 
our z. 

Thus, raser, raison, lese, misere, rose, blouse, ruse ; 
also deshonneur (silent h), deshabiller, etc. 

b. S final is regularly silent (42); but it is sounded in 
fils son, moeurs morals, tous all (except when followed by 
a word with which it agrees), and some others. 

c. A double s, or ss, is pronounced like a single s, but 
always with the hissing s-sound, never as z: thus, assez, 
blesser, disse, grossesse, poussasse, prussien, vinsse. 

61. T, t. — This consonant is generally sounded 

as in English. 

Thus, ta, taire, taux, tater, te, t6te, titre, ton, toute, 
tuteur, nette, trottoir, etroite. 



66] PROISTTTNCIATION OF THE CONSONANTS. 19 

a. Final tis regularly silent (42a); but it is pronounced 
in a number of words : as in dot dowry, net neat* hurt 
eight and sept seven (except before an initial consonant of a 
word numbered by them), vingt twenty, in the numbers 
from 21-29, etc. 

62. a. T followed by i, in certain endings where ti in 
English has the s7i-sound, is sounded as s : thus, partial, 
ambitieux, patience; also, in such cases as democratic 
(-cy), inertie (-tia), initier (-tiate). 

b. But where the ti is preceded by s or x (and ti has in 
English the c/i-sound), t retains its proper value : thus, 
question, mixtion. The same is the case in Chretien and 
in chatier. 

63. The combination th is everywhere pronounced as 
simple t: thus, theatre, the, pathetique, atheiste, sym- 
pathie. It is silent in asthme and isthme. 

64. V, v. — This consonant is sounded as in 
English. It never occurs as final. 

Thus, valu, veuve, vivant, vol, voir, vrai, active, vivre. 

65. W, w.— This consonant occurs only in a very small 
number of foreign words. It is usually pronounced like 
English v: thus, wagon; but in a word or two rather as 
English w : thus, whist, whig (the h silent). 

66. X, x. — This consonant is for the most part 
pronounced like ks, as in English. 

Thus, saxe, sexe, fixer, boxeur, luxe, Alexandre, an- 
nexation, exciter, excuse, experience. 

a. In the initial syllable ex before a vowel, x is pro- 
nounced like gz : thus, exalte, exemple, exister, exil, 
exode, exhorter, exhumer (h silent). Initial x has in 
most words the same ,^-sound: thus, Xenophon, Xavier. 
Xerxes is pronounced gzersesse. 

b. Final x is regularly silent (42a); but it is pronounced, 
like s, in the numerals six six, and dix ten (except before 
an initial consonant of a word numbered by them;, in dix- 
sept seventeen, Beatrix, Cadix, Aix en Provence ; in Aix- 
la-Chapelle it is pronounced like ks, also in a few foreign 
words. In the compound numerals dix-huit eighteen and 
dix-neuf nineteen, is sounded as z. - 



20 ALPHABET. [67 

c. Medial x is sounded as s (not z) in soixante sixty, and 
in a few proper names, as Bruxelles, Auxerre ; and as z in 
deuxieme second, sixieme sixth, dixieme tenth, sixaine 
half a dozen. 

67. Z, z. — This consonant has in general the 

same sound as in English. 

Thus, Zama, zele, zigzag, zone, zymotique, gazon. 



LINKING OE CAKRYING-ON OF FINAL CONSONANTS. 

68. A final consonant usually silent is liable 
to be pronounced when followed by another 
word beginning with a vowel (or mute h). This 
is called the linking or carrying-on of the final 
(in French, liaison). 

a. The final consonant thus carried on is pro- 
nounced directly upon the following vowel, as if 
a part of the same syllable with it ; any relaxa- 
tion or pause is to be made before the consonant, 
not between it and the vowel. 

b. The carrying-on of the final in any case de- 
pends upon the closeness of connection between 
the two words, and also in part upon the general 
style of utterance. 

69. Final s and x, when linked, take the sound 

of z ; d takes that of t ; and g (rare) takes that of k. 

Thus, leSwhommes, nos^amis^ont, nous^auronSweu, 
pas^encore, sans^elle ; deux w hommes, de beaux^yeux, 
des chapeaux w enormes, tu peux^y aller; un grands 
homme, vend^il, quand^il vient, pied-a-terre ; un rang w 
eleve, ce long^hiver, le joug^insupportable. But the d 
of nord keeps its d-sound. 



73] GENDER. 21 

70. Special exceptional cases are to be noted 
as follows : 

a. The t of et and is never carried on. 

6. A final consonant after r (unless it be the plural sign 
s) is averse to linking : thus, vers une heure, hors un seul, 
il ne sert a rien (but sert^il). 

c. The final n of a nasal syllable is carried on only in 
cases of close grammatical connection ; and when the 
carrying-on takes place, the preceding vowel loses more or 
less (sometimes all) of its nasal tone, while retaining the 
same vowel-quality as in its nasal utterance : thus, un w en- 
fant, mon^ami, ce bon^homme, en w Italie, bien^aimable, 
rieiua dire, en plein^air, enivrer, enorgueillir. 



NOUNS AND AETICLES. 

NUMBER AND GENDER. 

71. There are in French, as in English, two 
numbers, singular and plural. 

72. There are two genders, masculine and 
feminine. Every noun is either masculine or 
feminine. 

73. For the most part French gender corresponds to Latin, 
a French noun taking the gender of the Latin noun from 
which it is derived. 

I. The gender of many nouns can be inferred from their 
endings. 

a. Masculine are most nouns ending in age, ege (or 6ge), 
asme, isme, iste, eu, au, oir ; also most of those ending in a 
consonant, except in eur. 

b. Feminine are most nouns ending in te*, ti6, ence, 
ense, ance, tion, and sion ; also in mute e preceded by a 
vowel or double consonant. 

II. The gender of many French nouns may be inferred 
from their meaning. 



22 ARTICLES. - [74 

a. Masculine are all names of male persons, and of 
animals conspicuously male ; also names of seasons, months, 
days, divisions of the clay (except hours), and cardinal 
points, names of trees and metals, and infinitives used as 
nouns. 

6. Feminine are names of female persons, and of animals 
conspicuously female ; most names of countries, islands, 
towns, and rivers, if they end in e mute ; and most names 
of fruits and flowers. 

III. Some nouns are either feminine or masculine, ac- 
cording to their different meanings : thus, le manche the 
handle, la manche the sleeve; le vapeur the steamer, la 
vapeur the steam. 

74. "Words qualifying or relating to nouns — 
as articles, adjectives, pronouns — have also usual- 
ly a distinction of masculine and feminine form, 
so as to agree in gender with the nouns to which 
they belong. 

ARTICLES. 

75. There are, as in English, two articles, the 
definite and the indefinite. 

76. The definite article has in the singular a 
different form for each gender : namely, le before a 
masculine noun, and la before a feminine. Ex- 
amples are : le pere the father, la mere the mother, 
le livre the hook, la fleur the flower. 

77. But in the plural there is one form of the 
article, les, for both genders : thus, les peres the 

fathers, les meres the mothers, les livres the books, les 
fleurs the flowers. 

78. Before a word beginning with a vowel (or 
li mute : 50c), le and la both lose their vowel, and 
take the apostrophe, becoming alike V (22c): thus. 



83] ARTICLES. 23 

Tami the friend, ramie the (female) friend, l'homme 
the man, Theme the hour. 

79. The indefinite article is un before a mas- 
culine noun, and une before a feminine : ttms, un 
roi a king, une reine a queen, un livre a book, une 
fleur a flower. 

The indefinite article has no plural. 

80. The articles must always be repeated in 
French before every noun to which they belong : 
thus, the father and mother le pere et la m&re, a 
king and queen un roi et une reine. 

81. a. The definite article is often used in French where 
we use a possessive : thus, je tournai la tete I turned my 
head, fermez les yeux shut your eyes. 

b. It is sometimes used distributively, in the sense of 
each or every : thus, deux fois la semaine twice a week. 

c. For the use of the article with proper names, see 103. 

d. For the partitive and inclusive uses of the article see 
95-102. 

82. In certain cases where the English use the indefinite 
article it is omitted in French. Thus : 

a. It is often omitted before a word standing in apposi- 
tion with another : thus, Dieppe, ville de Normandie 
Dieppe, a city of Normandy. 

b. It is usually omitted before a predicate noun designat- 
ing in a general way nationality or condition of life or pro- 
fession : thus, je suis Americain I am an American, son 
pere est soldat his father is a soldier. 

c. It is omitted before cent and mille : thus, mille jours, 
cent ans a thousand days, a hundred years. 

83. The preposition de of is always contracted 

with the following article le into du, and with les 

into des; with V and la it remains unchanged: 

thus, du pfcre of the father, the father's, des mfcres 



24 NOUNS. [84 

of the mothers ; but, de la mere of the mother, de 
rhomme the man's. 

84. Le is contracted with the preceding prepo- 
sition k to into ail, and les with k into aux ; but 
la and V remain unchanged after & : thus, au roi 
to the king, aux pfcres to the fathers, aux reines to the 
queens; but, k la reine to the queen, k Tami to the 

friend. 

PLUKAL OF NOUNS. 

85. The plural of a noun is generally formed in 
French, as in English, by adding s to the singular : 
thus, le roi the king, les rois the kings; la fleur the 

flower, les fleurs the flowers. 

The principal exceptions to this rule are as 
follows : 

a. Nouns ending in the sibilants s, x, and z 
have the same form in the plural as in the singu- 
lar : thus, le fils the son, les fils the sons; la noix the 
walnut, les noix the walnuts; le nez the nose, les nez 
the noses. 

b. Nouns ending in au and eu, and a few in ou, 

add x instead of s : thus, le chapeau the hat, les 

chapeaux the hats; le lieu the place, les lieux the 

places ; le genou the knee, les genoux the knees. 

The nouns in ou taking x in the plural are bijou jewel, 
caillou pebble, chou cabbage, genou knee, hibou owl, joujou 
plaything, pou louse — all masculine. Other nouns in ou 
take s, according to the general rule : e.g., fous fools, clous 
nails, trous holes. 

c. Most nouns ending in al and ail change 
these endings to aux for the plural : thus, le cheval 



89] NOUNS. 25 

the horse, les chevaux the horses; le travail the work, 
les travaux the works. 

d. A few nouns form their plural quite irregu- 
larly ; the most important are : l'oeil the eye, les 
yeux the eyes; le ciel the heaven, les cieux the heavens. 

86. No French noun has any variation of form 
to express the varying relations of case ; the 
simple noun stands as subject and as object ; the 
other case-relations are in general expressed by 
prepositions. 

87. The meaning of the English possessive 
is (as often in English also) expressed by the help 
of the preposition de of: thus, la maison du roi 
the king's house, les livres des filles the girls' books. 

88. A noun in French is never used (as it sometimes is 
in English) datively, or as indirect object of a verb without 
a preposition. Thus, I give the man the book is always je 
donne le livre a rhomme — literally, / give the book to the 
man. 

89. The prepositions de and k must be re- 
peated before every noun that they govern : 
thus, des pfcres et des mfcres of the fathers and 
mothers, aux hommes, aux femmes, et aux enfants to 
the men, women, and children. 

Exercise 1. 
articles and nouns. 

VOCABULARY. 

l'homme (m.), the man ' la femme, the woman 

Tenfant (m.), the child le gar9<m, the boy 

le pere, the father la mere, the mother 



26 NOUNS. [90 

le fils, the son la fille, the girl, daughter 

le chapeau, the hat le cheval, the horse 

le livre, the book Toeil (m.\ the eye 

deux, ^0 trois, three 

et, a/id donne (3d pers. singular), gives 
[Present tense of avoir have, see 186, and 192...] 



1. L'enfant a un pere et une mere. 2. Avez-vous 
un cheval ? 3. Nous avons trois . chevaux. 4. Le 
gar<jon a le chapeau de rhomme. 5. Les femmes ont 
les chapeaux des enfants. 6. La femme a-t-elle un 
enfant? 7. Elle a deux fils et deux filles. 8. Elle 
donne un cheval au gallon et un chapeau a la fille. 

9. Le pere donne les livres aux filles et aux garcjons. 

10. J'ai deux yeux et vous avez deux yeux. 11. Le 
fils de la femme a deux chevaux. 

II. 

1. The boy has a brother and a sister. 2. Has the 
man a son ? 3. He has two sons and a daughter. 4. 
Have you the boy's hat ? 5. We have the boys' hats. 
6. The boys have the man's horses. 7. The son and 
daughter of the woman have the books. 8. A horse 
has two eyes and a man has two eyes. 9. The child 
gives the book to the woman. 10. The girl gives 
three books to the father and the father gives two 
horses to the girls and boys. 11. I have two hats. 

90. In French (as often in English), the ma- 
terial of which anything is made is expressed by 
help of the preposition de of: thus, une bague d'or 
a ring of gold, a gold ring, des chapeaux de velours 



95] PARTITIVE NOUN. 27 

velvet hats, une table de bois a wooden table, le drap 
de laine the woolen cloth. 

91. Nouns expressing measure of quantity, of 
weight, of number, and so on, are also followed 
(as usually in English) by de of before the name 
of the thing measured : thus, une bouteille de vin a 
bottle of wine, une livre de sucre a pound of sugar. 

92. Also after adverbs of quantity, de of is re- 
quired in French (though usually omitted in Eng- 
lish): thus, beaucoup d'eau much ivater (literally, 
much of water), trop de vin too much wine. 

93. A noun with de is used as a genitive of apposition or 
equivalence : thus, le nom de Henri the name of Henry, 
le titre de president the title of president, le mot de 
mariage the word marriage. 

94. A noun preceded by a is often used to express that 
by which something is characterized, as a distinguishing 
feature or quality, a purpose, means, ingredient, and the 
like. Thus, l'homme au long nez the man with a long nose, 
des arbres a fruit fruit trees, un bateau a vapeur a 
steamboat. 

a. Other special uses of a with nouns are: 1. after mal 
ache: as, mal a la tete headache, mal aux dents toothache ; 
2. between two numerals to express approximate number, 
and between two nouns to express succession : as, dix a 
douze ten or twelve, peu a peu little by little. 

PARTITIVE NOUN. 

95. The partitive sense of a noun is that which 
in English may be expressed by putting some or 
any before the noun, but which is oftenest left 
unexpressed : thus, have you bread {i.e., some 
bread, or any bread) ? they had pens, but they had 
no ink (i.e., some pens, not any ink); and so on. 



28 NOUNS. [96 

96. In French, this sense of a noun is in gen- 
eral distinctly expressed, by putting before it the 
preposition de of, along (usually) with the definite 
article : thus, j'ai du pain i" have bread (literally, of 
the bread), avez-vous des livres have you books (lit- 
erally, of the books) ? donnez-moi de la farine et de 
l'eau give me some four and water. 

97. Sometimes, however, the article is omitted, 
and the preposition alone expresses the partitive 
sense of the noun. This is the case : 

a. When the noun has an adjective before it : 
thus, j'ai de bon pain (not du bon pain) / have good 
bread, nous avons d'excellents livres ive have excellent 
books. 

b. After a negative verb : thus, je n'ai pas de 
pain (not du pain) I have not any bread, nous 
ri avons jamais de livres we never have books. 

98. More rarely, both preposition and article 
are omitted, and the bare noun stands in the par- 
titive sense, as in English. This is the case : 

a. After ni . . . ni, meaning neither . . . nor: thus, 
je n'ai ni pain ni beurre I have neither bread nor 
butter. 

b. In long enumerations : thus, il y a sur la 
table eau, vin, bifcre, pain, beurre, fromage there is 
on the table water, wine, beer, bread, butter, cheese. 

99. The partitive noun may stand in any 
noun construction — as subject, object, predicate, 
as governed by a preposition (except de), and so 
on. Thus, des soldats l'arret&rent some soldiers ar- 



103] NOUNS. 29 

rested him, il est des gens qui mentent there are 

people who lie, avec du courage with courage. 

100. A partitive noun is sometimes used in French 
where the English has an appositive noun or adjective : thus, 
quelque chose de bon something good, cent soldats de 
prisonniers, cent de tues a hundred soldiers prisoners, a 
hundred killed. 

INCLUSIVE SENSE OF THE NOUN. 

101. On the other hand, a noun is sometimes 
used in its most inclusive sense, or as signifying 
the whole class of objects to which it applies. 
This sense, which is usually left unexpressed in 
English, requires in French the definite article 
before the noun : thus, man (i.e., the whole race) is 
mortal I'homme est mortel, men (i.e., all men) are 
mortal les hommes sont mortels, sleep is the brother of 
death le sommeil est le frere de la mort. 

a. The article thus used may conveniently be 
called the inclusive article. 

b. The inclusive article is especially common before ab- 
stract nouns : e.g., la vie life, labeaute beauty, la nature 
Nature, la fortune fortune. 

102. The frequently occurring expression of the partitive 
and inclusive senses of the noun, which in English are left 
to be simply inferred from the connection, is a marked 
feature of French usage. Often, the two senses, alike un- 
expressed in English, are distinguished in French in the 
same brief sentence : thus, birds have wings (i.e., all birds, 
but a certain limited number of wings) les oiseaux ont des 
ailes, time is money le temps est de Targent. 

PROPER NAMES. 

103. Names of countries and provinces in 



30 NOUNS. [ioa 

French generally take the definite article. Thus, 
la France France, la Lorraine Lorraine. 

I. But the article is omitted before names of 
countries in certain cases, especially the following: 

a. After en in, into, to : thus, il est en France he 
is in France, je vais en Amerique / am going to 
America. 

b. After words meaning king, emperor, kingdom, empire, 
duchy, or the like ; also after histoire history, carte map, 
etc. : thus, roi de France king of France, Tempire <T Alle- 
magne the empire of Germany, une carte d'Amerique a 
map of America. 

c. After the name of a commodity coming from the 
country designated : thus, les vins de France the wines of 
France {French wines), du cuir de Russie Russian leather, 
de Tor de Californie some Californian gold. 

II. With other proper names, French usage 
in regard to adding the article is in general the 
same as English : but — 

a. The article is used before the name of a single moun- 
tain : thus, le Vesuve Vesuvius, le Mont Blanc Mont 
Blanc. 

b. Proper names, whether of persons or places, take the 
article when qualified by an adjective : thus, le pauvre 
Jean poor John, l'antique Rome ancient Rome. 

c. The article is used before a title : thus, le docteur 
Pasteur Br. Pasteur, le general Boulanger General 
Boulanger. 

Exercise 2. 

partitive and inclusive uses of the noun, etc. 

VOCABULARY. 
Dieu (m.), God la robe, the dress 

le pain, the bread la vie, life 

le velours, the velvet la Prance, France 



103] NOUNS. 31 

l'Europe (m.), Europe la chaise, the chair 

peu, adv., little le pays, the country 

mais, but l'Angleterre (/. ), England 

l'histoire (/.), history le bois, wood 

la viande, meat beaucoup, adv., much 

la soie, silk en, prep., in 

[Present tense of etre be, see 194.] 

!• , 

1. Les femmes ont-elles des robes ? 2. Elles ont 
des chapeaux de velours et beaucoup de robes de soie. 
3. I/enfant a-t-il du pain et de la viande ? 4. 
I/homme donne du pain a Fenfant. 5. Avez-vous 
des livres? 6. J'ai une histoire d'Augleterre. 7. 
La France est un pays de l'Europe. 8. L'homme est 
Penfant de Dieu. 9. Etes-vous la fille de Thomme ? 
10. Je suis la femme de Thomme. 11. Les filles et 
les fils de la femme sont des enfants. 12. Nous 
sommes en France, mais ils sont en Angleterre. 13. 
L'histoire est la vie des pays. 14. Nous avons beaucoup 
de chaises de bois, mais nous avons peu de chaises de 
velours. 

II. 

1. Have you any silk and velvet ? 2. I have much 
silk and little velvet. 3. The girl gives the man meat 
and bread. 4. I have brothers and sisters ; the 
brothers are in France and the sisters are in England. 
5. England is in Europe. 6. We have a history of 
France, and many histories of England. 7. God is 
the father of man. 8. God gives life to man. 9. We 
have many velvet chairs, but the woman has one 
wooden chair. 10. Many women have dresses, but 
few women have velvet dresses. 11. The books are 



32 ADJECTIVES. [104 

histories. 12. Are you the child's father ? 13. I am 
the child's father. 14. We are boys and girls. 



ADJECTIVES. 

GENDEK AND NUMBER. 

104. Adjectives in French have in general a 
variation of form for gender and for number, and 
are made to agree in both these respects with 
the nouns (or pronouns) to which they relate. 

a. An adjective, in whatever construction or in what- 
ever position it may stand, must always agree in gender and 
number with the word which it qualifies. 

b. An adjective qualifying more than one noun is gen- 
erally made plural and masculine if one of the qualified 
nouns is masculine : thus, une veste et un pantalon bleus 
a blue vest and trousers. 

105. A feminine adjective ends always in 
mute e ; and the feminine of most adjectives is 
made by simply adding mute e to the masculine 
form : thus, 

m. f. m. f. 

petit, petite, small aise, aisee, easy 

grand, grande, great joli, jolie, pretty 

But there are many exceptions to this rule. 
Thus: 

a. If a masculine adjective ends already in e 
mute, the feminine has the same form : thus, 

m. f. m. f. 

sage, wise, well-behaved impie, impious 

b. Adjectives ending in the masculine in el, eil, 
ien, on, also many in s and t, double their final 



107] ADJECTIVES. 33 

consonant before the added mute e of the femi- 
nine : thus, 

m. f. m. t. 

cruel, cruelle, cruel bon, bonne, good 

gros, grosse, big sot, sotte, stupid 

c. Adjectives ending in the masculine in x andf 
change these respectively to s and v before the 
added e mute : thus, 

m. f. m. f. 

heureux, heureuse, happy jaloux, jalouse, jealous 

vif, vive, lively neuf, neuve, new 

106. In some adjectives, changes of spelling 
are the necessary result of the addition of e for 
the feminine : thus, 

a. Adjectives having in the masculine an e be- 
fore a final consonant (whether pronounced or 
silent) change it to e in the feminine, if the con- 
sonant is not doubled (17a) : thus, 

m. f. m. f. 

cher, chere, dear complet, complete, complete 

And ef in like manner becomes eve : thus, bref, breve 
brief. 

b. Final c is changed for the feminine to que (58a), and 
final g to gue (486) : thus, 

m. f. m. f. 

public, publique, public long, longue, long 

And so oblong oblong. But grec Greek makes grecque 
(not greque) ; and blanc white, franc frank, sec dry, make 
more irregularly blanche, franche, seche. 

c. Adjectives ending in gu add e for the feminine (7): 
thus, aigu, aigue acute, ambigu, ambigue ambiguous, 

107. Five adjectives have two different forms 



34 ADJECTIVES. [107 

in the masculine, from one of which the feminine 
is made ; they are : 

m. f. 

beau bel, belle, beautiful 

nouveau nouvel, nouvelle, new, novel 

vieux vieil, vieille old 

fou fol, folle,foolis7i, mad 

mou mol, molle, soft 

a. Of the two masculine forms, the one in 1 is 
used before a word beginning with a vowel (or h 
mute) : thus, un bel homme a handsome man, un fol 
espoir a foolish hope, but un beau livre a handsome 
book, l'homme est beau the man is handsome, and so 
on. 

108. Some adjectives form their feminine more 
irregularly ; of these the commonest are : 

m. f. m. f. 

frais, fraiche/resA faux, f&visse, false 

doux, douce, sweet favori, favorite, fa write 

109. The plural of an adjective is generally 
formed as the plural of a noun of like ending 
would be : thus, 

a. A feminine adjective (since it ends in e) always adds 
s for the plural. 

6. Masculines in general add s ; but final s or x (z does 
not occur) remain unchanged ; au and eu (not ou) add x ; 
al is usually changed to aux. 

c. But bleu blue makes bleus ; some in al make als (as 
fatals, finals, ovals, etc.) ; of the adjectives having two 
forms in the singular (107), the plural is made from the 
form ending in u : thus, beaux, nouveaux, fous, mous. 

POSITION. 

110. The adjective in French comes more 



114] ADJECTIVES. 35 

usually after than before the noun which it quali- 
fies. 

a. Adjectives have great freedom of position in French, 
and it depends very much upon the euphony of the sentence 
and the choice of the writer or speaker whether in a given 
case the adjective shall precede or follow the noun. The 
following rules point out some of the leading considerations 
that help to determine the question. 

111. A few of the commonest adjectives are 
almost invariably placed before the noun. 

a. These are especially the adjectives meaning 

good and bad, large and small, young and old, also 

beau handsome, vrai true, and some others : thus, 

un beau livre a handsome book, mon vieux cousin my 

old cousin, des grands hommes great men. 

112. a. An adjective denoting a physical quality, as 
color or form, inclines to follow the noun ; one denoting an 
ideal or moral quality, to precede it : thus, des fleurs rouges 
red floviers, le bouillon chaud the hot broth, l'heureuse 
fille the happy girl. 

b. An adjective tends to follow the noun when taken in a 
more literal sense, and to precede it when taken in a more 
figurative sense : thus, un fosse profond a deep ditch, un 
profond silence a deep silence. 

c. In virtue of these differences, some adjectives have a 
well-marked distinction of meaning, according as they pre- 
cede or follow the noun : thus, mon cher ami my dear 
friend, un livre cher an expensive book, sa propre main 
his own hand, une main propre a clean hand. 

113. An adjective, of either gender or number, 
is often used as a noun. Thus, un riche a rich 
man, cette belle this beauty, les pauvres the poor. 

114. Adjectives are often, as in English, modi- 
fied or limited by nouns joined to them by a 
preposition, especially de or k. 



36 ADJECTIVES. [114 

In the majority of cases, the French preposition corre- 
sponds to the one that is used in English ; but : 

a. De is often used before a noun expressing source or 
cause or motive, after an adjective which in English re- 
quires a different preposition : thus, content de lui satisfied 
with him, fache de ma faute sorry for my fault, snrpris de 
cette nouvelle surprised at this news. 

b. De is sometimes used in the sense of in respect of in 
regard to, where the English uses a different preposition : 
thus, riche d'attraits rich in attractions, curieux de 
l'avenir curious about the future. 

c. De is used before a numeral after an adjective signifying 
quantity or dimension ; also after a comparative adjective, 
to signify measure of difference. Thus, grand de sixpieds 
six feet tall, large de deux pouces two inches wide, age de 
douze ans twelve years old, plus haut d'un pied higher by 
a foot 

d. The preposition a to, toward, at, is sometimes used in 
the sense of in respect to where English prefers a different 
expression : thus, adroit au jeu skilled in play, apre an 
gain greedy for gain, il n'est bon a rien he is good for 
nothing. 

For demonstrative and interrogative adjectives, see 153- 
4 and 159-60. 

Exercise 3. 
ad je ctiyes. 

VOCABULARY. 

bon, bonne, good mauvais, mauvaise, bad 

beau, bel, belle, beautiful joli, jolie pretty 

grand, grande, big, large petit, petite, little, small 

vieux, vieil, vieille, old jeune, young 

heureux, heureuse, happy cher, ehere, dear, expensive 

blanc, blanche, white nouveau, nouvelle, new 

la maison, the house la ville, the city, town 

le jardin, the garden l'eglise (/.)» the church 

dans, prep., in ^ toujours, adv., always 

maintenant, adv., now tres, adv., very 

mon (m.), ma (/.), my aussi, adv., as, too. also 

[Imperfect tenses of avoir and etre; see 186 and 194, also 187a.] 



115] ADJECTIVES. 37 

I. 

1. La jeune fille est-elle jolie ? 2. La petite fille 
est jeune et jolie. 3. La nouvelle maison de mon 
pere est grande et le jardin est grand aussi. 4. Les 
maisons de la grande ville sont tres mauvaises. 5. Les 
villes de la France sont grandes et belles. 6. Mon 
pere etait un bel homme, mais il est maintenant tres 
vieux. 7. Nous avions de belles fleurs dans un petit 
jardin. 8. Les jeunes filles ont des robes nouvelles. 
9. La jeune femme a une robe tres chere. 10. Le 
vieil homme est mon cher pere. 11. Les petits en- 
fants avaient des fleurs blanches. 12. Nous avions 
aussi de belles fleurs blanches. 14. lis etaient dans la 
vieille petite eglise blanche. 15. Les bons sont 
ton jours heureux. 

II. 

1. Were the little girls happy ? 2. The pretty 
little girls were happy and good. 3. The white 
flower is very pretty. 4. We had many pretty white 
flowers in a little garden. 5. Were you in the little 
new church ? 6. We were in the large old church. 
, 8. My dear father's house was in the great city. 9. 
The big book is the history of the happy life of a 
good man. 10. My dear brother is very happy now. 
11. He has a very beautiful wife and three pretty 
daughters. 12. My dear little daughter had a very 
expensive white dress. 13. We had some new white 
bread. a 

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES. 

115. Adjectives in Frencli are for the most 

•97a. 



38 ADJECTIVES. [115 

part not otherwise compared than by putting 
before them adverbs meaning more, etc. 

a. The comparative adverb is plus more, and 
this is made superlative by prefixing to it the 
definite article : thus, le (or la, les) plus the most. 

b. We may also prefix moins less and le moins least to 
an adjective, producing a comparison downwards, or of 
diminution. 

116. Hence, examples of the ordinary com- 
parison of a French adjective are as follows : 

beau, handsome plus beau, handsomer le plus beau, handsomest 

jeune, young plus jeune, younger le plus jeune, youngest 

aimable, amiable plus aimable, more le plus aimable, most 
amiable amiable 

117. But three adjectives have a special form 
for the comparative, which then is made super- 
lative by prefixing to it the definite article. They 
are : 

bon, good meilleur, better le meilleur, best 

mauvais, bad pire, worse le pire, worst 

petit, small moindre, smaller le moindre, smallest 

118. Comparison of equality is expressed by 
aussi as before the adjective. After the adjective, 
both as and than are expressed by que. Thus : 
aussi belle que ma soeur as beautiful as my sister, 
plus petit que mon frfcre smaller than my brother. 

119. Special rules are : # 

a. The article showing the superlative has to be dropped 
after a possessive : thus, mon plus jeune frere my youngest 
brother (not distinguishable from my younger brother). 

b. If a superlative adjective is put after a noun having 
the definite article, the article must be repeated : thus, 



121] 



NUMERALS. 



39 



rhomme le plus savant the most learned man, la ville la 
plus peuplee the most populous city. 

c. After a superlative, the preposition de of and not dans 
in, is used before a word of place : thus, le plus bel homme 
dumonde thehandsomest man in the world, la plus grande 
ville de l'Europe the largest city in Europe. 



120. 

1 un 

2 deux 

3 trois 

4 quatre 

5 cinq 

6 six 

7 sept 

8 huit 

9 neuf 

10 dix 

11 onze 

12 douze 

13 treize 

14 quatorze 

15 quinze 

16 seize 

17 dix-sept 

18 dix-huit 

19 dix- neuf 

20 vingt 



NUMERALS. 

CARDINALS. 

The names of numbers are as follows : 



10 dix 

20 vingt 

30 trente 

40 quarante 

50 cinquante 

60 soixante 

70 soixante-dix 

80 quatre-vingts 

90 quatre-vingt-dix 

100 cent 

101 cent un 

102 cent deux 

103 cent trois 

200 deux cents 

201 deux cent un 
206 deux cent six 

1000 mille, mil 



61 soixante et un 

62 soixante-deux 

63 soixante-trois 

64 soixante-quatre 

65 soixante- cinq 

66 soixante-six 

67 soixante sept 

68 soixante-huit 

69 soixante neuf 

70 soixante-dix 

71 soixante et onze 

72 soixante-douze 

73 soixante-treize 

74 soixante quatorze 

75 soixante- quinze 

76 soixante-seize 

77 soixante-dix-sept 

78 soixante-dix-huit 

79 soixante dix-neuf 

80 quatre vingts 



2000 deux mille 
1,000,000 un million 
2,000,000 deux millions 

121. a. Un is masculine only, and forms the 
feminine une ; no other numeral makes a distinc- 
tion of gender. 

b. Vingt tiventy, score, and cent hundred, are the 
only numerals (below million) that make a plural : 



40 NUMERALS. [121 

thus, vingts, cents. This plural form is used when 
score or hundred is multiplied by a preceding 
numeral — not, however, if an added numeyal fol- 
lows : thus, 

cinq cents, Jive hundred cinq cent &ix,flve hundred and ten 

quatre- vingts, fourscore quatre-vingt-un, eighty-one 

122. The other odd numbers between the tens 

are made in the same way as those for 61 to 69 

in the table. 

Thus, vingt et un 21, vingt-deux 22, trente-trois 33, 
quarante-cinq 45, cinquante-huit 58, and so on. 

a. A hyphen is always inserted between a ten 
and a unit immediately following, but not when 
et stands between ; and it is not used after cent 
or mille. 

123. a. In giving dates, the briefer form mil 

is used instead of mille : thus, 

mil sept cent soixante- seize 1776 

en mil huit cent quatre vingt-cinq in 1885 

b. In giving the time of day, o'clock is expressed 
by heures, literally hours, and the parts of hours, in 
the manner of the following examples: quelle heure 
est-il what time is it ? une heure one o'clock, trois 
heures et demie half -past three, k six heures moins 
un quart at a quarter before six, huit heures et vingt 
minutes twenty minutes past eight. But douze heures 
is not used, midi noon and minuit midnight being 
used instead : thus, il est minuit et demie it is half 
after twelve: see 129a. 

c. For expressions of measure, see 114c. 



127] ORDINALS 41 

124. For times with a numeral is used fois: 
thus, deux fois twice, cinq fois sept font trente-cinq 
Jive times seven are (literally, make) thirty-Jive. 

125. After plus more and moins less, before a 
numeral, than is expressed by de : thus, plus de 
trois ans more than three years, moins de dix minutes 
less than ten minutes. 

OKDINALS. 

126. The ordinals are mostly formed from the 
cardinals, whether simple or compound, by add- 
ing the ending -i&me, before which a final e of the 
cardinal is omitted. But — 

a. First is premier, and second is either second or 
the regular deuxifcme — except in compound num- 
bers, where Jirst is unifcme, and second is deuxifcme 
only. 

b. Cinq makes cinquifcme, with inserted u ; and 
neuf makes neuvifcme, with change of f to v. 

127. Examples of the ordinals are : 

1st premier 20th vingtieme 

, j second 21st vingt et unieme 
( deuxieme 33d trente-troisieme 

3d troisieme 67th soixante-dix-septieme 

4th quatrieme 99th quatre-vingt-dix-neuvieme 

5th cinquieme 100th centieme 

6th sixieme 1248th mille deux cent quarante-huitieme 

a. An ordinal is generally preceded by the 
definite article, le or la or les ; and premier and 
second have a special feminine form : thus, la 
premiere, la seconde. 



42 NUMERALS. [128 

128. The cardinal numeral sometimes stands 
in French where in English we use the ordinal : 
namely — 

a. In giving the day of the month, except the 
first : thus, le deux Janvier the second of January, du 
douze an vingt-trois avril from the lZth to the 23d of 
April, le dix du mois the 10th of the month ; but, le 
premier mai the 1st of May. 

b. In giving the title of a sovereign, except the 

first and sometimes the second : thus, Henri 

quatre Henry the Fourth, Louis quatorze Louis 

Fourteenth ; but, Charles premier Charles the First. 

e. In other numerations also, where the number follows 
the thing enumerated : thus, tome deux volume second, 
chapitre quatre chapter fourth. 

129. As in English, the ordinals are used also 
as fractionals — but only from fifth upward: thus, 
un cinquifcme a fifth part, trois vingtifcmes three 
twentieths. 

a. For half the French has two words, moitiS /. 
as noun, and demi (demie /.) as adjective. Demi 
before a noun is joined to it with a hyphen, and 
is not varied for gender. Thus, la moiti6 du 
temps half the time, un demi-pied a half foot, une 
demi-heure a half hour, une heure et demie an hour 
and a half. 

I. The words for third and fourth or quarter are 
tiers and quart respectively: thus, trois et un tiers 
three and a third, an quart d'heure quarter of an 
hour. 



129] ADJECTIVES AND NUMERALS. 43 

Exercise 4. 
comparison of adjectives and numerals. 

VOCABULARY. 

la famille, the family Tan (m.), the year 

1 heure ( /.), the hour le mois, the month 

avril (m.), April juin {m.), June 

juillet (m.), July la minute, the minute 

le franc, the franc age, agee, old, aged 

riche, rich 'haut, 'haute, high, tall 

le pied, the foot non, no 

I. 

1. Le gargon est-il aussi jeune que la fille ? 2. Non, 
il est le plus age de la famille. 3. Les vieux livres sont 
plus chers que les nouveaux. 4. La petite fille est 
meilleure que mon grand fils. 5. Mon fils est le pire 
des gargons. 6. I/Angleterre est moins grande que 
la France, mais elle est le plus riche pays de KEurope. 
7. II est cinq heures moins vingt minutes. 8. Le 
plus vieux des hommes est grand de six pieds. 9. II 
est lTiomme le plus riche du pays; il a soixante mil- 
lions de francs. 10. Le quinze avril, mil huit cent 
quatre-vingt-dix. 11. La plus petite fille est agee de 
deux ans et demi. 12. Les cinq grands livres sont 
des histoires de la vie de Louis quatorze. 13. Nous 
etions a Teglise a midi moins un quart. 

II. 

1. I have the largest and the most beautiful garden 
in the city. 2. The old church was larger than the 
new church. 3. The old man was richer than the 
young man; he had 13,283 francs. 4. My house is 



44 PRONOUNS. [130 

43 feet high. 5. Have you a life of Louis XV. ? 6. 
He was the worst man in France. 7. It was half- 
past three. 8. The 14th of July, 1789. 9. The 3d 
of April, 1890. 10. June 21st, 1832. 11. My brother 
was in Paris a year and a half. 12. He was twenty- 
one years old, and he was ten years older than my 
younger brother. 13. The children were in the 
garden at a quarter before eight. 14. We were at 
church half an hour. 15. I was as big as the boy, but 
lie was the oldest. 



PRONOUNS AND PRONOMINAL ADJEC- 
TIVES. 

PEKSONAL PRONOUNS. 

130. Many pronouns in French, especially the 
personal pronouns, have a different form accord- 
ing as they are used conjunctively or disjunc- 
tively. 

131. A conjunctive pronoun is one that is 
immediately connected with a verb, as either its 
subject or its direct or indirect object ; any other 
is disjunctive. 

132. The subject-pronouns are : 





1st pers. 


2d pers. 


3D pers. 


Sing. 


je, 1 


tu, thou 


il, he ; elle, she 


Plub. 


nous, we 


vous, you 


ils m., ellesf., ihey 



a. In French, as in English, the pronoun of 
the 2d person plural, vous you, is ordinarily used in 



135] PERSONAL PROJNOCJNS. 45 

addressing anyone. Tu thou is, however, used when 
speaking to little children or to intimate friends 
and relations. When vous is used in addressing 
a single person, an adjective or a participle agree- 
ing with it is made singular. 

133. The subject-pronoun stands in general 
immediately before the personal verb, only the 
negative ne and the object-pronouns being al- 
lowed to come in between the two. 

a. But as in English, the subject-pronoun fol- 
lows the verb in questions : see 192. 

b. In a question, only the subject-pronoun 
changes its place, everything else remaining as it 
would be if the sentence were an assertion. 

c. If the subject of a verb used interrogatively 
is a noun, the noun is usually put first, ,afcaa a 
corresponding pronoun is put after tibe^verb. 
Thus, has the man a book? is not a rhomme un 
livre ? but rhomme a-t-il un livre ? (literally/ the man, 
has he a book ?) 

134. Of the object- pronouns, direct and indi- 
rect object, all the forms are these : 

Singular. Plural. 

1st pers. me, moi, me, to me* nous, us, to us 

2d " te, toi, thee, io thee vous, you, to you 

3d • ' le, Mm j fa, her; lui, to him or her les, them; leur, to them 

135. The uses of the object-pronouns are as 
follows : * 

a. Nous and vous are unvaried, standing in 
every construction and position. 




46 PRONOUNS. [135 

6. Me and moi, and te and toi, are used either 
as direct or as indirect object, me and te before 
the verb, and moi and toi after it (for one excep- 
tion, see 1446). Thus, tu m'aimes thou lovest me, 
aime-moi love me, tu te donnes thou givest thyself, 
donne-toi give thyself, vous me donnez you give to 
me, donnez-moi give to me. 

c. Le, la, and les are used as direct object only, 
le being masculine, la feminine, and les of either 
gender ; lui and leur are used only as indirect 
object, both being of either gender : thus, il 
l'aime he loves him or her, aimez-le love him, je lui 
donne / give to him or her, nous leur vendons we sell 
to them, vendons-les let us sell them, vendons-leur let 
us sell to them. 

136. An object-pronoun, whether direct or 
indirect object, stands in general immediately 
before the governing verb — in the compound 
tenses, immediately before the auxiliary ; but 
with this exception : that, if the verb is an impera- 
tive affirmative, the pronoun stands instead direct- 
ly after it (and is joined to it by a hyphen). 

For examples, see above, 1356, c. 

a. Nothing is allowed to come between the 
verb and its pronoun-object ; the subject, and 
the negative ne, when used, are placed outside of 
them : thus, je ne vous donne pas le livre / do not 
give you the booh, mon ami ne t'a pas vu my friend 
has not seen thee, ne les aimez-vous pas do you not 



139] PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 47 

love them ? ne l'aura-t-il pas fini ivill he not have fin- 
ished it ? 

b. If the verb is an imperative negative, the 
object-pronoun precedes instead of following it : 
thus, ne lui donnez pas le livre do not give him the 
book, ne les aimez pas do not love them. 

137. When a verb governs two object-pro- 
nouns, one direct and the other indirect, they 
are both together placed either before or after it, 
according to the rules just given — that is, after it 
in the imperative affirmative, otherwise before it. 

a. As regards their position relative to one 
another : before the verb the indirect-object pro- 
noun, unless of the third person, precedes the 
direct ; but when both come after the verb, the 
indirect always stands last : thus, je te le donne 
I give it to thee, je le lui ai donn6 I have given it to 
him, il ne nous le vendra pas he ivill not sell it to us, 
il le leur vendra he ivill sell it to them, vendez-le-moi 
sell it to me, donnez-le-lui give it to him. 

6. A verb in French does not have two direct objects, and 
almost never two indirect, unless one be en or y (see 261). 

138. Personal pronouns not immediately con- 
nected with a verb, as either its subject or its di- 
rect or indirect object, are called disjunctive, or 
are said to be used disjunctively. 

139. The disjunctive forms of the personal 



pronouns are : 






1ST PERS. 


2D PERS. 


3D PERS. 


Sing. moi, me 


toi, thee 


lui, him ; elle, her 


Plub. nous, us 


vous, you 


eux m., elles f., them 



48 PRONOUNS. [140 

140. The ordinary constructions of the dis- 
junctive pronoun are these : 

a. With a preposition : thus, h moi to me, de toi 
of thee, avec lui with him, sans elle without her, pour 
eux/or them (m.), entre elles between them (f.). 

6. Used absolutely — that is, without any verb 
expressed with which they are immediately con- 
nected : thus, qui a dit cela who has said that ? 
moi I ; elle est plus grande que toi she is taller than 
thou. 

c. In combination with meme self, to form em- 
phatic pronouns corresponding to our myself, 
thyself, etc.: thus, moi-meme myself, lui-meme him- 
self vous-memes yourselves, elles-memes themselves (f.); 
but vous-meme yourself, when used of a single 
person. 

d. As predicates after the impersonal c'est, ce sont, it is: 
thus, c'est moi it is I, est-ce lui is it he f ce sont eux, ce 
sont elles it is they (see 1566). 

e. But after personal forms of §tre be, the conjunctive 
pronoun of the direct object is used as predicate, especially 
in the sense of it or so, standing for an adjective or noun 
already expressed : thus, §tes-vous heureux ? nous le 
sommes are you happy ? we are so; la reine ? je la suis 
the queen ? I am she ; and the French often uses le to re- 
peat or to anticipate something stated in a preceding or 
following clause, while the English omits it : thus, ils ne 
sont pas ici, je le vois they are not here, I see. 

141. a. When more than one pronoun, or a pronoun and 
noun, are subjects of the same verb, the pronoun has the 
disjunctive form ; and if the two are not of the same 
person, the compound subject is usually represented by a 
suitable pronoun before the verb : thus, vous et moi (nous) 
sommes amis you and I are friends, lui et son oncle sont 
partis he and his uncle are gone. 



143] PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 49 

The same is necessary in the case of a compound object : 
thus, je vous ecoute, toi et lui et elle / listen to thee and 
him and her. 

b. If a subject-pronoun is separated from the verb by 
anything but the negative ne and object-pronouns, it has to 
take the disjunctive form : thus, lui, saisissant un crayon, 
ecrivit he, seizing a pencil, wrote ; eux seuls sont venus 
they alone have come. 

c. If a subject-pronoun is to be made emphatic, it is 
usually repeated, in its disjunctive form, either before the 
verb or after it : thus, moi, je Tai fait I did it, je ne le 
crois pas, moi I do not believe it. 

142. Besides the personal pronouns already 

given, there is another, a reflexive pronoun of the 

3d person, having the conjunctive form se and the 

disjunctive soi (like me moi, te toi). 

a. Se is used in the inflection of reflexive verbs (215), both 
as direct and as indirect object, both as singular and as 
plural ; soi is only singular, and usually relates to an in- 
definite subject : thus, chacun pense a soi every one thinks 
of himself, n'aimer que soi to love only one's self 

143. There are also two words, en and y, 
which have the value of genitive and dative cases, 
respectively, of personal pronouns of the third 
person. They are used chiefly of things, not of 
persons (except of unspecified persons in the 
plural). 

a. En means of it, of them, and so on ; it is the 
equivalent of a pronoun with the preposition de 
(de lui, d'elle, d'eux, d'elles). 

b. Y means to it, to them, and so on ; it is the 
equivalent of a pronoun with the preposition a 
(a lui, a elie, a eux, a elles). 

c. Hence they are often used with verbs to represent 



50 PRONOUNS. [144 

nouns which, if expressed, would have to be connected 
with the verbs by de and a respectively : thus, s'en ap- 
procher to approach it (because one says s'approcher de 
quelque chose to approach something), je vousen remercie 
I thank you for it (because remercier de quelque chose), 
j'en ris I laugh at it (because rire de quelque chose), y ar- 
racher to wrest from them (because arracher a quelqu'un 
wrest from any one), j'y pense I think of it (because penser 
a quelque chose think of something) — and so on. 

144. En and y are treated as conjunctive pro- 
nouns, being always joined with the verb in the 
sentence, whatever their logical connection, and 
being put before or after the verb according to 
the same rules as other object-pronouns (136): 
thus, j'en suis certain I am certain of it, vous y etes 
ob&ssant you are obedient to it. 

a. When used along with other object-pronouns, they 
stand last, whether before or after the governing verb : thus, 
je l'y conduirai I will conduct him to it, donnez-lui-en give 
him of it (some), je ne vous en donnerai pas / will not 
give you of it (any). 

6. After the verb as well as before it me and te are used 
instead of moi and toi before en, and usually before y : 
thus, donnez-m'en give me of it (or some), rends-t'y betake 
thyself to it (but sometimes rends-y-toi). 

c. When y and en are used together, en follows y : thus, 
il y en a there are some. 

d. En and y are originally adverbs, and are, especially 
y there, not seldom used with that value. They have many 
idiomatic uses. 

145. En is often used partitively, standing for 

a noun with the partitive preposition de. Thus, 

avez-vous du pain ? have you bread ? j'en ai ; je vous 

en donnerai, I have some ; I ivillgive you some. 

a. Where the noun would have an adjective qualifying it, 
the adjective takes the partitive preposition : thus, j'en ai 
de bon I have some (that is) good^ (equivalent to j'ai de bon 



150] POSSESSIVES. 51 

pain) ; voulez- vous des fleurs ? je vous en donnerai de 
belles do you want flowers ? I will giveyou some handsome 
ones. 

POSSESSIVES. 

146. In French is made a fuller distinction than in Eng- 
lish between pronominal adjectives, accompanying an ex- 
pressed noun which they qualify, and pronominal substan- 
tives, or pronouns proper, standing for a noun not expressed. 
The pronominal adjectives always qualify a following noun, 
and are of the same gender and number with it. 

147. The possessive adjectives are : 

Sing, mon m., maf.; plur. mes m.f., my 
ton hi., ta f.; tes m.f., thy 

son m., sa f.; ses m.f., his, her, its 

notre m.f.; nos m.f., our 

votre m.f.; vos m.f., your 

leur m.f.; leurs m.f, their 

a. There is no distinction made in French between his 
and her and its; son, etc., has all these meanings, and, like 
the other adjectives, is varied only to agree with the noun 
which it qualifies. 

148. But the feminine singular forms ma, ta, sa 
are not allowed before a word beginning with a 
vowel (or h mute) ; instead are used mon, ton, son : 
thus, mon amie my (female) friend, son aimable fille 
Ms lovely daughter. 

149. The possessives are repeated before every 
noun that they qualify : thus, my father and 
mother mon pere et ma mfcre, her friends and rela- 
tives ses amis et ses parents. 

150. The possessive is often used in French, especially 
in address, where it is omitted in English : thus, bonjour. 
ma soeur good-day, sister ; oui, mon general yes, General, 

a. On the other hand, the definite article often stands 



52 PRONOUNS. [151 

instead of the possessive (see 81a), or the meaning of the 
possessive is expressed by an indirect object-pronoun or by 
en : thus, il s'est casse* le bras he has broken his arm, le 
sol en est bon its soil is good. 

151. When used substantively, or without an 
accompanying noun expressed, the possessives 
have a special form and are always preceded by 
the definite article : thus, 

le mien, lamienne, les miens (w.), les miennes (/.), mine 

letien, la tienne, les tiens (m.), les tiennes (/.), thine 

le sien, la sienne, les siens (m.), les siennes (/.), his, Iters, its 

lenotre, la notre, les notres(ra. and/.), ours 

le votre, la votre, les votres (m. and/.), yours 

le leur, la leur, les leurs (m. and/.), theirs 

152. The possessive pronouns (as they may 
be called) take the gender and number of the 
object possessed, and must be used whenever the 
noun expressing that object does not immediately 
follow them : thus, mon chapeau et le sien my hat 
and Ms (or hers), son chapeau et le mien his (or her) 
hot and mine, nous avons nos chapeaux et ils ont les 
leurs we have our hats and they have theirs. 

Exercise 5. 
personal and possessive pronouns. 

VOCABULARY, 

aimer, love (like donner) parler, talk (like donner) 
le frere, the brother la soeur, the sister 

l'ami (m.), friend l'amie (/.), friend 

avec, with le monsieur, the gentleman, sir 

ne - - - pas, not (see 241) ne - - - point, not at all 

[Present tense of donner give, see 200.] 



152] POSSESSIYES. 53 



1. Aimez-vous votre mere ? 2. Je Taime et elle 
m'aime aussi. 3. Donnez-vous la fleur a votre ami ? 
4. Je la lui donne. 5. Nous lui parlons, mais nous ne 
Faimons point. 6. Uhomme donne-t-il du pain a 
ses enfants? 7. II en a, mais il ne leur en donne 
pas. 8. Moi, fen ai aussi, et je leur en donne. 
9. Ton frere est-il plus grand que toi ? 10. Non, je 
suis aussi grande que lui. 11. Je n'etais pas a Paris 
en juin, j'y etais en juillet. 12. Mon amie et la votre 
y etaient avec moi. 13. J'ai beaucoup de livres, et 
vous en avez aussi beaucoup. 14. Nous avons une 
histoire de France, et nous vous ladonnons. 15. Vous 
parlez de l'histoire, mais nous n'en parlons pas. 

II. 

1. Was your friend at the church with you ? 2. 
She was there (at it) with me, and your brother was 
also with us. 3. Do you give bread to the poor 
children ? 4. We give them some, and they have 
much of it now. 5. The children have many flowers, 
and they give of them to the poor. 6. Is thy brother 
older than thou ? 7. He is bigger than I, but I am 
older than he. 8. I love you ; do you love me ? 9. 
I do not love you. 10. Your sister is prettier than 
ours, but mine is a good girl and I love her. 11. He 
loves me, but he does not speak to me. 12. I have a 
flower; I give it to her. 13. She loves good books, 
and she gives some to her little brothers. 14. You 
do not give them to them, you give them to me. 



54 PRONOUNS. [153 

DEMONSTRATIVES. 

153. The demonstrative adjectives, meaning 
this or that and these or those, are as follows : 

ce or cet m., cette f. ; ces m.f. plural. 

Cet m. is used when the following word begins 
with a vowel (or h mute) ; otherwise, ce. Thus : 

ce cbapeau, this (or that) hat ces cbapeaux, these (or those) hats 
cette robe, this (etc.) dress ces robes, these (etc.) dresses 

cet arbre, this (etc ) tree cet bomme, this (etc.) man 

cet bonnete bomme, this (etc.) honest fellow 

154. When the demonstrative is meant to be 
emphatic, or when this and that are to be dis- 
tinguished from one another, the adverbs ci here 
and Ik there are added respectively to the qualified 
noun ; and they are joined to it in writing by a 
hyphen : thus, ce chapeau-ci this hat (literally, this 
hat here), ces robes-l& those dresses, cet homme-ci et 
cette femme-l& this man and that woman. 

155. The demonstrative pronouns are : 

ce, this, that, it (indefinite and neuter); celui m., celle 
f., this or that one; ceux m., celles f., these, those. 

a. To all of them may be added the demon- 
strative adverbs -ci and -1&. 

156. Ce has the value of a pronoun as subject 
of etre he in its various tenses, and as antecedent 
of the relative pronouns qui, que, etc. 

a. In the former case, it is generally to be ren- 
dered by it in English : thus, c'est moi it is I, ce 
fut son devoir it was his duty, £a 6t6 lui it ivas (lias 



157] DEMONSTRATIVES. 55 

been) Tie, c/aurait 6t6 dommage it would have been a 
pity (see 6). 

6. If the verb after ce is followed by a plural noun, or a 
plural pronoun of the third person, it is itself made plural : 
thus, ce furent elles it was they, ce seront mes amis it 
will be my friends. 

c. Ce is much more often used than il with the 3d 
persons of §tre in the sense of it is, it was, etc. In fact, 
il is hardly used except in expressions of time, before an ad- 
jective followed by a logically subject-clause (infinitive or 
relative) which the il anticipates, and in the parenthetic il 
est vrai, meaning to be sure. 

Thus, il est temps de partir it is time to leave, il est six 
heures it is 6 o'clock, il est difficile de vous plaire it is 
hard to please you (i.e. to please you is hard?), cherement, 
il est vrai, mais fort loin at a clear rate, to be sure, but 
very far off; — but, vous avez tort, c'est evident you are 
wrong, it {that) is plain, faites cela, ce n'est pas difficile 
do that, it is not hard, ce fut ma faute it was my fault, 
c'est votre ami qui est parti it is your friend that has 
left. 

d. Ce is also sometimes used with pouvoir and devoir as 
auxiliaries of §tre, and in a few phrases with sembler seem : 
thus, ce pouvait §tre lui it might be he, ce doit §tre it 
must be, ce me semble it seems to me. 

For ce as antecedent of a relative, see 175. 

157. The compounds of ce with the demon- 
strative adverbs are written ceci and cela (with- 
out grave accent ; it is often contracted collo- 
quially to ca); they mean this and that in an in- 
definite way, without reference to any particular 
object expressed. They are used in all construc- 
tions. Thus : cela ne me plait pas that does not 
please me, je ne veux pas ceci ; donnez-moi cela I don't 
want this ; give me that, que dites-vous de cela what 
do you say about that ? 



56 PRONOUNS. [157 

a. In a question cela is divided into ce . . . la : thus, 
est-ce la votre livre is that you?* book ? 

158. The other demonstratives, celui etc., dis- 
tinguish gender and number, and are used of 
persons and of things, with more direct reference 
to something already expressed or distinctly un- 
derstood. They are used either alone or with ci 
and 1& added to them by a hyphen : thus, celui 
this or that one, celui-ci this one, celui-l& that one. 

a. The simple celui celle ceux celles are used 
only as antecedents of a following relative, and 
before the preposition de in possessive phrases : 
thus, celui qui est mon ami he ivho is my friend, mes 
amis et ceux de monfrfcre my friends and my broth- 
er's (literally, and those of my brother), ma robe et 
celle de ma soeur my dress and my sister's. 

b. In all other constructions, the compounds 
celui-ci, celui-l&, etc., are used — as subject, as ob- 
ject, after prepositions, and so on: thus, voici 
deux fleurs; voulez-vous celle-ci ou celle-l& here are 
two flowers : will you have this one or that one ? ce 
livre-ci est k moi; je ne sais rien de celui-l& this book 
belongs to me ; I Jcnoiv nothing of that one. 

c. As the last example shows, the demonstrative adjective 
is to be used when there is a noun with it for it to qualify, 
but the demonstrative pronoun to represent the noun, when 
the latter is omitted. 

d. Celui-ci etc. often mean the latter, and celui-la etc. 
the former. 

INTERROGATTVES. 

159. The interrogative adjective, meaning 
which or what, is : 



163] IJSTTERROGATIVES. 57 

Sing, quel m., quelle f.; plur. quels m., quelles f. 
Thus : quel livre avez-vous which (or what) book have 
you f quelles fleurs sont sur la table what flowers are on 
the table ? 

160. a. The interrogative adjective is also used 

in exclamation : thus, quelle bont6 what goodness I 

quels beaux livres what beautiful books I 

b. The indefinite article, sometimes added in English after 
what, is not expressed in French : thus, quel bel homme 
what a handsome man ! 

161. The interrogative pronouns are : 
qui, who f whom f what f quoi, what t 

que, what f lequel etc., which? 

162. Qui is hardly used except of persons. It 

stands for all genders and numbers, and in all 

constructions — as subject, object, predicate, after 

a preposition, etc. Thus : qui est la who is there ? 

qui cherchent-ils whom do they seek? qui etes-vous 

who are you ? a qui est ce livre-la to whom does that 

book belong ? 

a. Qui is sometimes, but only rarely, used as subject 
in the sense of what f Generally, the phrase qu'est-ce qui 
what is that which or what is it that is employed instead. 
Thus : qui vous amene what brings you here f qu'est-ce 
qui vous trouble what troubles you ? (literally, what is it 
that troubles you f) 

163. due and quoi what ? are also without dis- 
tinction of gender or number, but are used only 
of things ; cue is conjunctive (131), and quoi is 
disjunctive (like me moi, etc.). 

a. Que is only object of a verb, or predicate 
with an intransitive verb : thus, que voulez-vous 
what do you want ? que nous dit cet homme what 



58 PRONOUNS. [163 

does this man say to us ? qu'est-ce or qu'est-ce que 
c'est what is it? que sert-il of ivhat use is it ? 

b. Quoi is used absolutely, and with a preposi- 
tion : thus, elle vous a donn6 — quoi she has given 
you — what ? de quoi parle-t-il of what is he speak- 
ing ? 

c. Both que and quoi are frequent in exclamation : thus, 
que de fois je l'ai vu how many times I have seen him ! 
quoi de plus heureux what more fortunate ! quoi! vous y 
§tes encore what ! you are here still f 

d. Que is often also an adverb, meaning how ? why ?: 
thus, que vous §tes belle how handsome you are! que 
parlez-vous si haut why do you speak so loud f 

164. Lequel is made up of the interrogative ad- 
jective quel and the definite article ; it is written 
as if one word, but both its parts are inflected for 
gender and number : thus, 

Sing, lequel m. , laquelle f . ; Plur. lesquels m. , lesquelles f . 

They are used in all constructions, in the sense 

of ivhich ? tvhich one ? what one ? Thus : voici 

deux livres : lequel choisissez-vous here are two books : 

which do you choose ? laquelle de ses soeurs est marine 

ivhich of his sisters is married ? par lequel de ces 

chemins by which one of these roads ? 

a. The article in lequel etc. also combines with the 
prepositions de and a just as when it stands alone, mak- 
ing duquel, desquels, desquelles ; auquel, auxquels, aux- 
quelles : thus, duquel de vos amis parlez-vous of which 
of your friends do you speak f auxquelles de ces filles les 
a-t-il donnes to which of these girls has he given them f 

165. After some interrogative words — the pronouns qui 
and que, the adjective quel, and the adverbs ou where f 
quand when ? comment how f combien how much, how 
many f — a subject-noun is allowed to be itself put after the 



166] DEMONSTRATIVES AND INTERROGATIYES. 59 

verb in asking a question : thus, que veut cette femme 
what does this woman want f ou. est notre ami where is 
our friend? quel livre a l'ecolier what book has the 
scholar ? 

166. It is common in French to use paraphrases in ask- 
ing questions : thus, qu'est-ce que vous avez what is it 
that you have? for qu'avez-vous what have you? qui est-ce 
qui vend who is it that sells f for qui vend who sells f and 
the like ; also est-ce que vous avez is it [the case] that you 
have f for avez- vous have you ? and especially est-ce que 
j'aime instead of aime-je, and the like. 

Exercise 6. 
demonstrative and interrogative pronouns. 

VOCABULARY, 
chercher, seek (like dormer) travailler, work (like donner) 
la main, the hand ne . . . jamais, never (see 244) 

la dame, the lady madame (/.), madam 

propre, own, clean oui, yes 

I. 
1. Est-ce la votre pere ? 2. Non, monsieur, ce n'est 
pas mon pere, c'est mon frere. 3. Qui sont ces 
hommes-la ? 4. Ce sont les deux freres de cet 
homme-ci ; celui-ci travaille toil jours, mais celui-la ne 
travaille jamais. 5. Quels livres cherchez-vous ? 6. 
Je ne cherche point ceux-ci, je cherche mes propres 
livres et ceux de ma sceur. 7. J'aime ces robes-ci, 
mais je n'aime point celles de cette dame. 8. Qui 
est-ce la? C'est moi, madame. 9. Qu'est-ce que vous 
avez dans la main, et qui vous le donne ? 10. Je ne 
vous donne pas ceci, mais je vous donne cela. 11. 
Laquelle des fleurs aviez-vous ? 12. Cette fleur blanche 
est la mienne. 13. Qui me parle et de quoi parle-t-il ? 
14. II nous parle de cet homme et de ces enfants. 



60 PRONOUNS. [166 

II. 

1. Is that your house ? 2. Yes, madam, it is my 
house, and this one is also mine. 3. This one is 
prettier than my father's. 4. This lady is handsome, 
but I do not like that one. 5. Which child do you 
love ? 6. I love these children, but I do not love 
those. 7. Who is this child? 8. It is the son of that 
man. 9. What are you seeking ? 10. I am seeking 
my horses and my brother's. 11. Of whom are you 
speaking ? 12. I am not speaking of this, I am 
speaking of that. 13. To which of the boys are you 
speaking, and who is speaking to you ? 14. I am 
speaking to this one. 15. This man and this woman 
and these children were in that church. 

RELATIVES. 

167. All the interrogative pronouns are used 
also as relatives, but with some notable differ- 
ences from their use as interrogatives. 

168. By far the commonest relatives are qui 
and que, qui standing as subject and que as direct 
object of a verb. Both of them signify either 
persons or things, of any gender or number. Thus: 
l'enfant qui pleure the child that cries, des oiseaux 
qui volent birds that fly, le livre que vous avez the 
booh which you have, les amis que nous aimons the 
friends whom we love. 

a. Que is also sometimes predicate with an intransitive, 
especially §tre: thus, imbecile que vous etes fool that you 
are, ce qu'il nous faut what we lack. 

b. The participle of a compound tense following que 



171] KELATIVES. 61 

agrees in gender and number (191a) with the word to which 
que relates : thus, les gants qu'il a achetes the gloves that 
he has bought, les fleurs que nous avions vues the flowers 
which we had seen. 

c. A verb having qui as subject is of the person of its an- 
tecedent: thus, moi qui suis / who am, toi qui as thou that 
hast, etc. 

169. Qui is also used with prepositions, but 
generally only of persons : thus, rhomme a qui je 
l'ai donne the man to whom I have given it, les amis 
chez qui vous demeurez the friends with whom you 
live. 

170. a. Lequel etc. is used with prepositions 

of objects other than persons : thus, le chien 

auquel j'ai donne a manger the dog to which I have 

given (something) to eat, les maisons dans lesquelles 

vous demeurez the houses in which you dwell. 

b. But lequel etc. is also used as subject or direct object 
of a verb, in place of qui or que — generally, however, only 
when there is special reason for distinguishing the gender 
and number of the person or thing referred to : thus, voila 
l'ami de ma mere, lequel vient me voir here is my mother's 
friend, who comes to see me (where qui, if used, might seem 
to refer to mere mother). 

171. Quoi, when used as relative, is more often 

a compound relative (or relative implying also its 

antecedent), and taken in a general or indefinite 

sense : thus, apres quoi, il s'en alia after ivhich, he 

went off, je ne sais quoi I don't know what, voila de quoi 

il parle toujours that is what he is always talking 

about. 

a. De quoi, before an infinitive, means wherewith : thus, 
j'ai de quoi vous amuser I have wherewith to amuse you 
(the means of amusing you). 



62 PRONOUNS. [171 

6. The interrogative adjective quel is also sometimes used 
with compound relative value : thus, je ne sais quel livre 
il a I don't know which book lie has. 

172. Instead of qui or lequel with preceding de 
is often used dont, meaning of ivhom, of which, 
whose : thus, 1'homme dont vous parlez the man of 
whom you speak, notice ami, dont le fils est ici our 
friend, whose son is here. 

a. If the word on which dont is dependent is object of a 
verb, it takes its regular place after the verb, however far 
separated from the relative : thus, la femme dont vous 
avez recu la lettre the woman whose letter you have re- 
ceived, le livre dont je ne connais pas le titre the book of 
which I do not know the title. 

173. The adverb ou where is also often used almost as a 
relative pronoun, meaning to or at or in which, and the 
like : thus, les honneurs ou vous aspirez the honors to 
which you aspire, la douleur ou je suis plonge the grief 
into which I am plunged. And d'ou means from which or 
whence, and par ou by which, by which route, etc. 

174. Quiconque whoever, anyone who, is an indefinite 
relative, generally without antecedent expressed : thus, 
quiconque ment sera puni whoever lies shall be punished. 

175. The pronoun used as antecedent of a rela- 
tive (as already pointed out, 156, 158a) is not the 
personal, as in English he who, they who, and so 
on, but the demonstrative, ce or celui etc. 

a. Ce qui and ce que answer to English what 
or that which, the one as subject, the other as ob- 
jector sometimes predicate) of a verb : thus, dites- 
moi ce qui vous trouble tell me what troubles you, 
dites-moi ce que vous voulez tell me what you wish, 
faites ce que je vous dis do what I tell you. 

b. Celui qui or que etc. means in like manner he 



180] INDEFINITES. 63 

who, the one ivhich, and so on : thus, celui qui est 
dans les cieux he ivho is in the heavens, celle que vous 
aimez she whom you love. 

176. Note that the relative, often omitted in 
English, must always be expressed in French : 
thus, the friends I love les amis que j'aime, the books 
he has bought les livres qu'il a achetGs. 

177. Qui, quoi, and quel, when followed by que before a 
subjunctive, correspond to whoever and whatever with the 
subjunctive in English ; qui being used relating to persons, 
quoi as object relating to things, and quel as predicate ad- 
jective : thus, qui que vous soyez, quoi que vous fassiez, 
quels que soient vos talents whoever you may be, what- 
ever you may do, whatever be your talents, quoi qu'il en 
soit whatever the case may be. 

a. The same phrases are used sometimes in the sense of 
any one soever, anything whatever, and the like : thus, il 
ne connait qui que ce soit he knows nobody at all. 

INDEFINITES. 

178. A few special uses of the indefinite pro- 
nouns and adjectives call for notice here. 

a. On one, they, people is used as an indefinite 
subject : thus, on dit one says, people say, they say. 

L'on is often used instead of on after a vowel 
sound, especially after et, ou, ou, que, si ; but not 
if the following word begins with 1. 

179. Aucun and nul not any, no (fem. aucune, 
nulle) are used both adjectively and substantively. 
They both require a ne before the verb : see 244d 

180. a. Autre other may be used as adjective 
or substantive. It combines with un in several 
phases : thus, Tun et 1' autre the one and the other, 



64 PRONOUNS. [180 

i.e. both, Tun ou Pautre either, ni Tun ni l'autre 

neither. 

b. It is sometimes added to nous or vous expletively, or 
simply to emphasize the distinction of us or you from 
others : thus, nous autres Francais we Frenchmen, vous 
autres Anglais you English. 

c. Autre chose anything else is common with a negative 
verb in the sense of nothing else. 

181. Quelque some, quelqu'un some one, quelque 
chose something. 

a. Quelque is more limited in meaning than the parti- 
tive (see 95) and may be rendered by a little, a few: thus, 
des pommes some apples, quelques pommes a few apples. 

b. The negative correlatives to quelqu'un and quelque 
chose are personne and rien. These are used not only 
where the negation is distinct or distinctly expressed, but 
also often where a degree of negative sense is implied: thus, 
sans voir personne without seeing any one, je le defie de 
rien dire de moi I defy him to say anything of me. 

c. Quelque . . . que stands in French in an attributive 
sense, directly qualifying the noun expressed, for the 
English whatever. It is also used adverbially in the sense 
of however, and is then, of course, invariable : thus, 
quelques talents que vous ayez whatever talents you may 
have, quelque grands que soient vos talents however great 
your talents may be. (For the subjunctive with quelque — 
que etc. see 272a.) 

182. Tout all, every (/. toute, m. pi. tous, /. pi. 
toutes). 

a. Tout means all when followed by an article : thus, 
toute la ville all the city {the whole city), toute ville every 
city. 

b. Tout is more general and inclusive than chaque : thus, 
tout homme est mortel ; chaque homme a son caractere 
a lui every man is mortal ; each man has his own character. 

c. Tout le monde (literally all the world) is much used 
for everybody ; and tous les deux, tous deux for both. 



182] RELATIVES AND IJSTDEFINITES. 65 

EXEKCISE 7. 

RELATIVE AND INDEFINITE PRONOUNS. 

VOCABULARY. 

le gant, the glove l'ecole (/.), the school 

la chambre, the room le fruit, the fruit 

ici, adv., here ou, adv., where 

I. 

1. Lequel de vos amis aimez-vous ? 2. J'aime 
tons ceux qui m'aiment aussi. 3. Est-ce que ce sont 
vos filles qui sont a Pecole ? 4. Oui, monsieur, Tune et 
Tautre y sont. 5. J^aime les fleurs que vous me 
donnez, et j'aime aussi celui qui me les donne. 
6. Que cherchez-vous ? 7. Je cherche les gants que 
j'avais a (in) la main. 8. Les gants dont vous parlez 
sont dans la chambre dans laquelle nous etions. 
9. Le livre dont vous me parlez' n^est pas ici. 10. 
Ou est mon chapeau ? On le cherche, monsieur. 11. 
Nul de mes amis n'est ici. 12. Tout le monde est 
maintenant a Paris. 13. Qui est Phomme a qui vous 
parlez ? 14. Je vous donne ce que j'ai dans la main; 
c'est tout ce que j'ai. 

II. 

1. What are you looking for ? 2. I am looking for 
my daughter who was here. 3. She whom you seek 
is not here. 4. Have you the books of which you 
are speaking ? 5. I have all those of which I speak. 

6. All the fruit which is here is from (de) my garden. 

7. This gentleman has a house which is very beauti- 
ful, and in which are many rooms. 8. Who is the 
boy with whom you are talking? 9. I am talking 



66 VERBS. [183 

with a little boy whom I love much. 10. Are you 
looking for the gloves which were in your hand ? 11. 
The gloves are not here, but some one is looking for 
them. 12. I am giving the flowers which I have in 
my hand to the sister of the girl who is here. 13. I 
give you all I have. 



VEEBS. 



183., The simple forms of the French verb are 

the PRESENT, IMPERFECT, PRETERIT, FUTURE, and CON- 
DITIONAL, the imperative, the present and im- 
perfect of the subjunctive mode, the infinitive, 
and the two participles, present and past. The 
uses of the tenses correspond in general to those 
of the English tenses, but the imperfect ex- 
presses continued past action : thus, il avait he 
was having, kept having, used to have, etc.; while 
the preterit expresses simple past action, with 
nothing else implied (see also 264). 

184. Compound forms for all the parts of a 
French verb (except the imperative and the past 
participle) are made, as in English, by adding its 
past participle to the various forms of an auxil- 
iary verb. The auxiliary is usually avoir have; 
but some verbs take instead etre he (see 195). 

a. Hence, to make any given compound form, the corre- 
sponding simple form of avoir (or sometimes of §tre) is to 
be taken, and the past participle of the principal verb added 
to it. 

b. It must always be borne in mind that in any compound 
form it is the auxiliary that is the real verb, the added par- 



186] THE AUXILIARIES AVOIR AND ETRE. 67 

ticiple being only a verbal adjective. All rules, therefore, 
as to the place of negative words, subject and object pro- 
nouns, and so on, given with reference to the verb, apply to 
the auxiliary and not to the participle in compound forms. 

185. The compounds of the present and im- 
perfect tenses are best called, as in English, the 
pekfect and plupebfect ; that of the preterit, the 
past antekiok ; those of the future and condition- 
al, the futuee PEPiFECT and conditional pekfect. 

a. In many grammars, the indicative perfect is called 
the past indefinite (Fr. passe indefini). It is very often 
used where in English we have the preterit ; and especially 
of anything that has happened during this day, or during 
any period of which the present is viewed as a part. 

THE AUXILIAEIES AVOIR AND ETRE. 

186. The compound forms of avoir have are 
made, as in English, with avoir itself as auxiliary. 
The simple and compound forms are given to- 
gether in full below. 

Complete Conjugation of avoir have. 

Infinitive. Perfect Infinitive. 

avoir, have, to have avoir eu, to have had 

Present Participle. Perfect Participle. 

ayant, having ayant eu, having had 

Past (or Passive) Participle. 
eu, had 

Indicative. 
Present. Perfect. 

j'ai, I have j'ai eu, 1 have had 

tu as, thou hast tu as eu, thou hast had 

il a, he has il a eu, he has had 

nous avons, we have nous avons eu, we have had 

vous avez, you have vous avez eu, you have had 

ils ont, they have ils ont eu, they have had 



VERBS. 



[186 



Imperfect. 
j'avais, I had, was having, etc. 
tu avais, thou hadst, etc. 
il avait, he had, etc. 
nous avions, we had, etc. 
vous aviez, you had, etc. 
ils avaient, they had, etc. 

Preterit. 

j'eus, I had 

tu eus, thou hadst 

il eut, he had > 

nous eumes, we had 

vous eutes, you had 

ils eurent, they had 

Future. 
j'aurai, I shall have 
tu auras thou wilt have 
il aura, he will have 
nous aurons, we shall have 
vous aurez, you will have 
ils auront, they will have 

Conditional. 
j'aurais, I should have 
tu aurais, thou wouldst have 

il aurait, he would have 
nous aurions, ice should have 

vous auriez, you would have 

ils auraient, they would have 



Pluperfect. 
j'avais eu, I had had 
tu avais eu, thou hadst had 
il avait eu, lie had had 
nous avions eu, we had had 
vous aviez eu, you had had 
ils avaient eu, they had had 

Past Anterior. 
j'eus eu, I had had 
tu eus eu, thou hadst had 
il eut eu, he had had 
nous eumes eu, we had had 
vous eutes eu, you had had 
ils eurent eu, they had had 

Future Perfect. 
j'aurai eu, / shall have had 
tu auras eu, thou wilt have had 
il aura eu, he will have had 
nous aurons eu, we shall have 7iad 
vous aurez eu, you will have had 
ils auront eu, they will have had 

Conditional Perfect. 
j'aurais eu, I should have had 
tu aurais eu, thou wouldst have 

had 
il aurait eu, he would have had 
nous aurions eu, we should have 

had 
vous auriez eu, you would have 

had 
ils auraient eu, they would have 

had 



Imperative. 



aie, have, have thou 



ayons, let us have 
ayez, have, have ye 



187] THE AUXILIARIES AVOIR AKD ETRE. 69 

Subjunctive. 
Present. Perfect. 

que j'aie, that I may have que j'aie eu, that I may have had 

que tu aies, that thou mayest que tu aies eu, that thou mayest 

have have had 

qu'il ait, that he may have qu'il ait eu, thai he may have had 

que nous ayons, that we may que nous ayons eu, that we may 

have have had 

que vous ayez, that you may que vous ayez eu, that you may 

have have had 

qu'ils aient, that they may have qu'ils aient eu, that they may etc. 

Imperfect. Pluperfect. 

que j'eusse, that I might have que j'eusse eu, that I might have 

had 
que tu eusses, that thou mightest que tu eusses eu, that thou mightest 

have have had 

qu'il eut, that he might have qu'il eut eu, that he might have 

had 
que nous eussions, that we might que nous eussions eu, that we 

have might have had 

que vous eussiez, that you might que vous eussiez eu, that you 

have might have had 

qu'ils eussent, that they might qu'ils eussent eu, that they might 

have Jtave had 

187. a. Every imperfect in the language without excep- 
tion is inflected with the endings -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, 
-aient. 

6. All preterits in the language, without exception, have 
the plural endings -mes, -tes, -rent, and before the first 
two of these endings they have a circumflexed vowel (either 
u, or a, or i); and all excepting those of the first regular 
conjugation (200) have -s, -s, -t in the singular. 

c. Every future in the language, without exception, is in- 
flected like that of avoir, with the endings -ai, -as, -a, -ons, 
-ez, -ont, and with r before the endings. 

d. Every conditional in the language, without exception, 
is inflected like that of avoir, with the endings -ais, -ais, 
-ait, -ions, -iez, -aient — which are precisely the same with 



70 VERBS. [187 

the imperfect endings ; and these endings are invariably 
preceded by r. 

e. While the English imperative may be used either with 
or without a subject expressed, the French never allows 
one. The third persons imperative are supplied from the 
present subjunctive. 

188. a. It is customary to prefix que that to the inflec- 
tion of the subjunctive tenses in French grammars, because 
a subjunctive usually, though not always, has that con- 
junction before it. 

b. The 3d persons of the present subjunctive are often 
used in an imperative sense. 

c. Every imperfect subjunctive in the language, without 
exception, is inflected with the endings -sse, -sses, -t, 
-ssions, -ssiez, -ssent, and with a circumflexed vowel (u* or 
a or i) before the t of the 3d singular. 

d. The subjunctive tenses are by no means always to be 
rendered in English with the auxiliaries may and might, 
but sometimes with others, as should and would, and some- 
times by simple subjunctive or even indicative forms (see 
268 etc.). 

189. a. The infinitive always ends in r or re. 

b. The "sign of the infinitive," corresponding to the 
English to y is either a to or (quite as often) de of As to 
the use of the one or the other of these, see 277-80. But the 
French infinitive is often also (like the English) used with- 
out a sign, as subject of a verb, after various verbs, and 
after prepositions, especially pour in order to (literally for, 
for to) : thus, parler est mieux to speak is better, il veut 
avoir he wishes to have, pour etre in order to be. 

190 a. The present participle invariably ends in ant. 

6. This participle, when used as a participle, has no varia- 
tion for gender or number. Often, however, it is used as 
an adjective, and then is varied like any other adjective : 
thus, une charmante femme a charming woman, des yeux 
pergants piercing eyes. 

c. This participle (i.e. apparently: really a gerund of. the 
same form) is also very commonly used after the preposition 
en: thus, en etant in being, in the act of being, vjhile being 
(and often best rendered being simply). 



193] THE AUXILIARIES AVOIR AND ETRE. 71 

191. The past participle is variable for gender and num- 
ber, like any ordinary adjective. 

a. It is for the most part unvaried, or has its mascu- 
line singular form, in the compound forms of the verb when 
made with avoir. But it is a rule in French that if a com- 
pound verb-form has a direct object, and that object stands 
before the verb, the participle is made to agree with it in 
gender and number : thus, quels livres avez-vous eus 
what books have you had f les fleurs que j'ai eues the 
flowers which I have had, and so on. 

192. In French (as in English) the subject- 
pronoun is put after the verb in asking a question ; 
and it must always be joined to the verb by a 
hyphen. 

a. If the 3d pers. sing, of any verb ends in a 
vowel, a t is added to it, with a hyphen before 
and after, whenever it is followed by the pronoun 
il or elle (or by on: 178). 

Pres. Indic. 
ai-je, have I? avons-nous, have we ? 

as-tu, hast thou? avez-vous, have you? 

a-t-il, has he? ont-ils, have they? 

Pluperf. Indic. 
avais-je eu, had I had? avions-nous eu, had we had? 

avais-tu eu, hadst thou had? aviez vous eu, had you had? 
avait-il eu, had he had? avaient-ils enjiad they had? 

193. But if the subject of a verb used inter- 
rogatively is a noun, the noun is generally put 
first, and then a corresponding pronoun is put 
after the verb : that is, the subject is first stated, 
and then the question is asked about it by means 
of a pronoun. 

Thus, has the man a book f is not a rhomme un livre 1 



72 VERBS. [193 

but rhomme a-t-il un livre * (literally, the man, has he a 
book f) 
For the negative with the verb, see 241 etc. 

Exercise 8. 

AVOIR. 

VOCABULARY. 

hier, yesterday aujourd'hui, to-day 

demain, to-morrow assez, enough 

le morceau, tlie piece l'argent (ra.), money, silver 

ne . . . rien, nothing (see 244) ne . . . plus, no longer (see 244) 

si, if quoique, although (see 272) 



1. J'ai un morceau de pain et j'aurai aussi de la 
viande. 2. Avez-vous eu assez de pain? 3. Nous en 
aurons eu assez. 4. Qu'aviez-vous dans la main ? 5. 
Nous n'avons plus les fleurs que nous avons eues hier. 
6. Si nous n'avions pas d'argent, nous n'aurions pas 
de pain. 7. Cet homme a eu beaucoup d'argent, 
mais il n'en aura plus. 8. S'il avait eu d'argent, il 
aurait eu un beau cheval. 9. Quoique cette jeune 
fille ait de tres belles robes, elle n'est pas heureux. 

10. Elle aura demain tous les livres que j'ai eus hier. 

11. Quoiqu'ils les aient tous, je n'en aurai pas. 12. 
Ayez du pain, monsieur. 13. Nous avonseu du pain, 
mais il n'a rien eu. 

II. 

1. Who has the books which you had yesterday ? 
2. We had some books yesterday, but we shall not 
have any (en) to-morrow. 3. Although these women 
have pretty flowers in their garden, they do not give 



194] THE AUXILIARIES AVOIB AND ETRE. 73 

me any. 4. Will the boy have a new hat? 5. If he 
had had money, he would have had a new hat. 6. 
Though we have plenty of money, we have no horses. 
7. We shall have some horses to-morrow. 8. Have a 
piece of bread. 9. We shall have had bread enough; 
but we shall have no meat. 10. If we had money, we 
should have a new house. 11. Although we no longer 
had money, we should have bread enough. 12. We 
shall have nothing. 13. He had had the horses yes- 
terday, but they will have had them to-day. 

194. Etre be also makes its compound forms 
with the help of avoir. Its full conjugation is as 
follows : 

Infinitive. • Perfect Infinitive. 

etre, be , to be avoir ete, to 7iave been 

Present Participle. Perfect Participle. 

etant, being ayant ete, Jiamng been 

Past (or Passive) Participle. 

ete, been 

Indicative. 
Present. Perfect. 

je suis , lam j'ai ete I have been 

tu es tu as ete 

il est il a ete 

nous sommes nous avons ete 

vous etes vous avez ete 

ils sont ils ont ete 

Imperfect. Pluperfect. 

j'etais, I was, used to be, etc. j'avais ete, Iliad been 

tu etais tu avais ete 

il etait il avait ete 

nous etions nous avions ete 

vous etiez vous aviez ete 

ils etaient ils avaient ete 



74 



VERBS. 



[194 



Preterit. 
je fus, I was 
tu fus 
ilfut 

nous fumes 
vous futes 
ils furent 

Future. 

je serai, I shall be 
tu seras 
il sera 
nous serons 
vous serez 
ils seront 

Conditional. 
je serais, I should be 
tu serais 
il serait 
nous serions 
vous seriez 
ils seraient 



sois, be , be thou 

Present. 

que je sois, that I may be 

que tu sois 

qu'il soit 

que nous soyons 

que vous soyez 

qu'ils soient 

Imperfect. 

que je fusse, that I might be 



que tu fusses 
qu'il fut 



Past Anterior. 
j'eus ete, I had been 
tu eus ete 
il eut ete 
nous eumes ete 
vous elites ete 
ils eurent ete 

Future Perfect. 

j'aurai ete, I shall have been 

tu auras ete 

il aura ete 

nous aurons ete 

vous aurez ete 

ils auront ete 

Conditional Perfect. 

j'aurais ete, I should have been 
tu aurais ete 
il aurait ete 
nous aurions ete 
vous auriez ete 
ils auraient ete 
Imperative. 

soyons, let us be 
soyez, be, be ye 

Subjunctive. 

Perfect. 

que j'aie ete, that 1 may have been 

que tu aies ete 

qu'il ait ete 

que nous ayons ete 

que vous ayez ete 

qu'ils aient ete 

Pluperfect. 

que j'eusse ete that I might have 

been 
que tu eusses ete 
qu'il eut ete 









196] THE AUXILIARIES AVOIR AND ETRE. 75 

Imperfect. Pluperfect. 

que nous fussions que nous eussions ete 

que vous fussiez que vous eussiez ete 

qu'ils fussent qu'ils eussent ete 

195. All transitive verbs, and a great majority 
of the intransitive and neuter verbs, take avoir as 
auxiliary ; but etre is used with all passive and 
reflexive verbs. 

a. Etre is also used as auxiliary with a few in- 
transitives, of which the commonest are : aller go, 
venir come (and its compounds), arriver arrive, 
happen, entrer enter, naitre be born, mourir die, 
tomber/aZ?, etc. 

b. A few intransitives take sometimes avoir and some- 
times §tre — avoir when there is had in view especially the 
performance of an act, but §tre when the resulting condi- 
tion. Such verbs are especially those that signify a distinct 
change of place or condition. Thus : il a passe a quatre 
heures he went by at four o'clock, il est passe et disparu 
lie has gone by and disappeared. 

c. "When an intransitive has etre as auxiliary 
its participle in the compound tenses agrees in 
number and gender with the subject of the verb. 
The participle with avoir remains unvaried. 

196. In phrases signifying bodily conditions 

which one feels or is conscious of, avoiir with a 

noun is used in French where the English has 

the verb be with an adjective : thus, 

j'ai faim, I am hungry (literally, I have hunger) 
il a soif, he is thirsty (literally, he has thirst) 
n'avez-vous pas sommeil, are you not sleepy ? 
nous avons froid, we are cold vous avez chaud, you are warm 
tu avais peur, thou wast afraid ils auront honte, they will be 

ashamed 



76 VERBS. [196 

a. Similar phrases are avoir mal a have a pain or ache 
in, avoir raison be right or in the right, avoir tort be 
wrong or in the wrong : thus, j'ai mal a la t§te / have the 
headache, vous avez raison et j'ai tort you are right and I 
am wrong. 

b. In a corresponding manner, questions as to one's per- 
sonal condition are asked and answered with avoir : thus, 
qu'avez-vous what is the matter with you $ (literally, what 
have you °f) and avez-vous quelque chose is anything the 
matter with you f (literally, have you anything?) and je 
n'ai rien nothing is the matter with me (literally, / have 
nothing). 

197. Etre followed by & to is used in the sense 
of belong to. Thus, a qui est-il whose is he ? c'est 
& moi it is mine. 

Exercise 9. 
Etre be. 

VOCABULARY. 

quand, when parceque, because 

la ville, the city, town malheureux, euse, unhappy 

malade, sick aveugle, blind 

mechant, -ante, naughty pauvre, poor 

la rose, the rose paresseux,-euse, lazy 

I. 

1. Mon ami a ete tres riche, mais il est maintenant 
pauvre et malheureux. 2. II serait heureux s'il 
n/etait pas aveugle. 3. Est-ce que vos amis ont ete 
a la ville quand vous y etiez ? 4. lis n'y ont pas ete, 
mais ils y seront a trois heures. 5. Je serai tres heu- 
reux, quand nous serons a Paris. 6. Qu'as-tu, mon 
enfant? J'ai faim, madame. 7. Cet enfant sera 
malade si on ne lui donne pas de pain. 8. Quoiqu'il 



198] THE THREE REGULAR CONJUGATIONS. 77 

ait bien soif, il n'a pas faim. 9. Est-ce que ces roses 
sont a votre amie ? 10. Non, monsieur, elles ne sont 
pas a elle ; elles sont a yous. 11. N'ayez pas peur, 
madame, ce cheval est tres bon. 12. Cette dame a 
honte, parcequ'elle a eu bien peur. 13. Quoique 
l'enfant soit tres mechant, il n'a pas honte. 14. Sois 
bon et tu seras heureux. 

1. Will those ladies be here to-morrow ? 2. They 
were here yesterday, but they will be in town to-mor- 
row. 3. To-morrow I shall have been at Paris three 
days. 4. Although they were at Paris three days, 
they were not happy there. 5. Your friend would be 
at school if she were not lazy. 6. She was ashamed, 
because she had not been at school. 7. Are you 
hungry, my children ? 8. No, we are not hungry, 
but we are sleepy. 9. Do not be lazy when you are 
at school. 10. Though they are lazy, they are not 
bad children. 11. Let us be lazy and happy. 12. 
Whose are these roses? 13. They are my friend's; 
they are not mine. 14. You were right; the roses 
were not ours. 15. You were cold, because you had 
no warm dresses. 

THE THKEE REGULAR CONJUGATIONS. 

198. There are three regular conjugations of 

French verbs ; their infinitives end respectively 

in 1. er ; 2. ir ; 3. re: thus, donner give, ftmv finish, 

vendre sell. 

a. There are also many irregular verbs having these same 
endings in the infinitive, and others having oir. Half -a- 



78 VERBS. [198 

dozen of those ending in oir in the infinitive are in many 
grammars called another regular conjugation (the third, 
those in re being reckoned as the fourth). The irregular 
verbs will be given further on. 

199. All the forms of regular verbs (and also 
most of those of irregular verbs) may be inferred 
from five leading forms, which are therefore 
called the principal parts of the verb. These 
are I. the infinitive ; II. the present participle ; 
III. the past or passive participle ; IV. the 
present indicative ; V. the preterit indicative. 

a. In learning a French verb, then, regular or irregular, 
the first thing is to learn and make familiar the principal 
parts. 

I. From the infinitive are made the future and 

conditional, by adding respectively ai and ais(the 

e of the infinitive ending re being lost) : thus, 



Infinitive 


donner 


finir 


vendre 


Future 


donnerai 


finirai 


vendrai 


Conditional 


donnerais 


finirais 


vendrais 



II. From the present participle may be found 
the imperfect indicative and the present subjunc- 
tive, by changing ant into ais and e respectively : 
thus, 



Pres. pple 


dormant 


finissant 


vendant 


Impf. indic. 


donnais 


finissais 


vendais 


Pres. subj. 


donne 


finisse 


vende 



a. In many verbs, the plural persons of the present in- 
dicative need also to be inferred from the present parti- 
ciple : thus, finissons etc. from finissant : see 2276. 

III. From the past participle are made, with 
the auxiliary verb avoir or etre (see 195), the 



200] FIRST REGULAR CONJUGATION. 79 

various compound forms — the perfect infinitive, 
perfect indicative, and so on : thus, 

Past pple donne fini vendu 

Perf. infin. avoir donne avoir fini avoir vendu 
Perf. indic. j'ai donne j'ai fini j'ai vendu 

etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. 

IV. From the present indicative may be found 
the imperative : thus, 

Pres. indic. donne finis vends 

Impv. donne finis vends 

a. In general, the three persons of the imperative are 
the same with the corresponding persons of the present in- 
dicative ; only, in the first conjugation, the final s of the 
2d sing. impv. is usually (200d) lost, so that its form agrees 
with that of the 1st sing, indicative. 

V. From the preterit indicative may be made 

the imperfect subjunctive, by changing final s (in 

the first conjugation, that of the 2d sing.) into 

sse : thus, 

Pret. indic. donnai, donnas finis vendis 
Impf. subj. donnasse finisse vendisse 

a. Verbs of the first conjugation are the only ones in the 
language that do not end in s in the 1st sing, preterit. 

FIKST REGULAE CONJUGATION. 

200. The first regular conjugation, with in- 
finitive ending in er, contains the great majority 
of all the verbs in the language. As a model of 
its inflection may be taken the verb donner give. 

a. The synopsis of its principal parts and the 
parts derived from them is as follows : 



80 VERBS. pOO 



donner 


dormant 


donne 


donne 


donnai 


donnerai 


donnais 


avoir donne 


donne 


donnasse 


donnerais 


donne 


etc. etc. 







b. The complete inflection of the simple tenses 
is (with infinitive and participles prefixed) : 

Infinitive, give, to give 

donner (a donner, de donner) 

Present Participle, giving Past Participle, given 

donnant donne 

Indicative. 
Present, I give, do give, am giving, etc. 

je donne nous donnons 

tu donnes vous donnez 

il donne ils donnent 

Imperfect, I gave, was giving, etc. 
je donnais nous donnions 

tu donnais vous donniez 

il donnait ils donnaient 

Preterit, I gave, did give, etc. 

je donnai nous donnames 

tu donnas vous donnates 

il donna ils donnerent 

Future, I shall or will give, etc. 

je donnerai nous donnerons 

tu donneras vous donnerez 

il donnera ils donneront 

Conditional, I should or would give, etc. 

je donnerais nous donnerions 

tu donnerais vous donneriez 

il donner ait ils donneraient 

Imperative, give, give thou, etc. 
donnons 
donne donnez 



200] FIRST REGULAR CONJUGATION. 81 

Subjunctive. 
Present, that I may give, etc. 

que je donne que nous donnions 

que tu donnes que vous donniez 
qu'il donne qu'ils donnent 

Imperfect, that I might give, etc. 

que je donnasse que nous donnassions 

que tu donnasses que vous donnassiez 

qu'il donnat qu'ils donnassent 

c. Of the compound forms, made with the 
auxiliary avoir, it will be sufficient to give the 
synopsis, the inflection of the auxiliary being 
already familiar : thus, 

Perfect Infinitive, to have given 
avoir donne 

Perfect Participle, having given 

ayant donne 

Indicative Perfect, I have given, etc 

j'ai donne etc. 

Pluperfect, I had given, etc. 

j'avais donne etc. 

Past Anterior, I had given, etc. 

j'eus donne etc. 

Future Perfect, I shall have given, etc. 

j'aurai donne etc. 

Conditional Perfect, I should have given, etc. 

j'aurais donne etc. 

Subjunctive Perfect, that I may have given, etc. 

que j'aie donne etc. 

Pluperfect, that I might have given, etc. 

que j'eusse donne etc. 

d. The 2d sing, imp v. of the first conj. adds an s when 
followed by the object-pronouns en or y. 

e. If the 1st sing, present indicative or imperfect sub- 
junctive (the latter, of any conjugation) comes to be fol- 
lowed by its subject, it takes an acute accent on its final e 
(17): thus, donne-je do I give? donnasse-je should I give? 



82 VERBS. [201 

201. Many verbs of tlie first conjugation, other- 
wise regular, have to undergo in inflection certain 
changes of spelling, in accordance with the gen- 
eral rules of the language : thus, 

202. Since no word in French may end in two silent 
syllables (17), and their occurrence anywhere in a word is 
generally avoided, therefore — 

a. Verbs having in the infinitive a mute syllable 
before the final syllable have to give the former 
a full pronunciation whenever in inflection the 
syllable after it becomes mute. 

6. This is usually done by putting a grave 
accent upon the e of the syllable in question. 

Thus, from the infinitive mener lead, we have je mene, tu 
meneras, il menerait, mene, qu'ils menent, etc. ; but nous 
menons, je menais, tu menas, qu'il menat, etc. Also, from 
acheter bay, we have il achete, nous acheterons, que tu 
achetes, etc. ; but vous achetez, il acheta, achetons, que 
nous achetions, etc. 

c. But a few verbs double instead the con- 
sonant (t or 1) following the e. 

Thus, from jeter throw, we have je jette, tu jetteras, 
il jetterait, jette, qu'ils jettent, etc. ; and from appeler 
call, we have il appelle, nous appellerons, que tu appelles 
etc. 

The verbs thus doubling the consonant are jeter (and its 
compounds) and cacheter ; appeler, chanceler, e'tinceler, 
renouveler, and ensorceler. 

203. Since the accent on an e followed by a silent syl- 
lable is regularly and usually the grave (16) — therefore 

a. Verbs having in the infinitive an acute 6 be- 
fore the final syllable (except cr6er create) change 
the accent to grave (fc) when the next syllable be- 



206] FIRST REGULAR CONJUGATION. 83 

comes mute — except, however, in the future and 
conditional, where the acute is retained. 

Thus from the verb ceder cede, we have je cede, but 
nous cedons, etc. 

204. Verbs having c or g (pronounced soft) 
before final er of the infinitive retain the soft 
sound of these letters through their whole con- 
jugation ; and this is signified by writing a cedilla 
under the c (thus, c: 6), and by keeping an e after 
the g (48c), wherever in conjugation those letters 
come to be followed by a or o. . 

Thus, from placer place, and manger, eat, we have 
je place, and nous placons ; je mange, and nous mangeons 
je placais, and nous placions ; je mangeais, and nous 

mangions 
nous placames and ils placerent ; nous mangeames, and 

ils mangerent 
and so on. 

205. Since y (= double i) does not usually stand before a 
mute e (276) — therefore 

a. Verbs having ay before the final er of the 
infinitive change it to i when in conjugation it 
comes to be followed by a mute e. 

o. Thus, for example, from the verb payer pay we have 
je paie, nous payons, je paierai, ils paient, etc. 

c. But verbs in eyer preserve the y throughout: thus, je 
grasseye (not grasseie), etc. And some writers retain 
the y after a : thus, je paye, etc. 

206. "When the i of a verb ending in ier comes to be fol- 
lowed by i in inflection (namely, in 1st and 2d plur. impf. 
indie, and pres. subj.), the two i's remain unchanged (do 
not become y). Thus, from prier pray, oublier forget, we 
have nous priions, vous priiez ; que nous oubliions, que 
vous oubliiez. 



84 VERBS. [206 

Exercise 10. 
verbs of the first conjugation. 

VOCABULARY, 

trouver, find apporter, lyring 

acheter, buy manger, eat 

oublier \ forget mener, lead 

la journee, the day le gateau, the cake 

la brebis, the sheep la vache, the tow 

la foret, the forest le champ, the field 

I. 

1. Qu'avez-vous donne a cette pauvre femme ? 2. 
Je lui ai donne une bonne vache. 3. I/homme a-t-il 
trouve ses brebis ? 4. II les a cherchees partout, mais 
il ne les a pas trouvees. 5. Quand il les aura trouvees, 
il les menera aux champs. 6. II travaillait toute la 
journee, et a midi il mangea un morceau de pain. 7. 
Quoique nous achetions beaucoup de gateaux, nous 
n'en mangeons jamais. 8. Si vous trouvez des roses, 
apportez-les-moi. 9. Nous donnerons a notre mere 
toutes les roses que nous aurons trouvees dans la foret. 
10. Les enfants ont honte parcequ'ils ont mange tous 
les gateaux. 11. S'ils les ont tous manges, on leur 
en achetera d'autres. 12. Quoique vous m'oubliiez, 
je vous ai bien airae. 13. Oii menez-vous la vache 
que vous avez achetee? 14. Si je Fachete, je la me- 
nerai au champ de mon pere. 

il. 

1. Did you find the cows you were looking for ? 2. 
We were looking for our cow in the forest, but we did 
not find it there. 3. Did you lead it to the forest ? 
4. If I had found it, I should have led it to the field. 



207] SECOND REGULAR CONJUGATION. 85 

5. "Where are the cakes which you bought yesterday ? 

6. I gave them to the poor man who was working in 
the garden. 7. Did you find the cakes and the 
flowers I had brought you ? 8. We ate the cakes, and 
we will give the roses to our mother. 9. Let us buy 
some cakes, and let us give them to the children. 10. 
Although we give her cakes, she does not eat them. 
11. She is sick to-day, but she will eat them to-mor- 
row. 12. Do not forget your friends, but love them 
well. 13. Though he may have forgotten me, I will 
never forget him. 14. Give him the letter you 
brought. 

SECOND REGULAR CONJUGATION. 

207. The verbs of the second conjugation, 
with infinitive ending in ir, are much fewer than 
those of the first. As model of the second con- 
jugation we will take the verb Unir finish. 

a. The synopsis of principal and derived parts 

is : 

finir finissant fini finis finis 

finirai finissais avoir fini finis finisse 

finirais finisse etc -> etc - 

b. The full inflection of the simple tenses is : 

Infinitive, finish, to finish 
finir (a finir, de finir) 



Present Participle, 


finishing 




Past Participle, 


finished 


finissant 






fini 






Indicative. 








Present, 


I finish, 


etc. 




je finis 






nous finissons 




tu finis 






vous finissez 




il finit 






ils finissent 





86 



VERBS. 



[207 



IS 



Imperfect, I was finishing, etc. 


je finissais 


nous finissions 


tu finissais 


vous finissiez 


il finissait 


ils finissaient 




Preterit, I finished, etc. 


je finis 


nous finimes 


tu finis 


vous finites 


il finit 


ils finirent 




Future, I shall finish, etc. 


je finirai 


nous finirons 


tu finiras 


vous finirez 


il finira 


ils finiront 


Conditional, I should finish, etc. 


je finirais 


nous finirions 


tu finirais 


vous finiriez 


il finirait 


ils finiraient 




Imperative, finish, etc. 




finissons 


finis 


finissez 




Subjunctive. 


Present, that I may finish, etc. 


que je finisse 


que nous finissions 


que tu finisses 


que vous finissiez 


qu'il finisse 


qu'ils finissent 


Imperfect, that I might finish, etc. 


que je finisse 


que nous finissions 


que tu finisses 


que vous finissiez 


qu'il finit 


qu'ils finissent 



c. Of the compound tenses, the brief synopsis 



Perf. Infin. 
Perf. Part. 
Indic. Perf. 

Plupf. 

Past Ant. 

Fut. Perf. 



avoir fini, to have finished 
ay ant fini, having finished 
j'ai fini, I have finished 
j'avais fini, I had finished 
j'eus fini, I had finished 
j 'aurai fini, I shall have finished 



Cond. Perf. j 'aurais fini, I should have finished 



209] THIRD REGULAR CONJUGATION. 87 

Subj. Perf. que j'aie fini, that I may have finished 

Plupp. que j'eusse fini, that I might have finished 

d. Note that, of the simple tenses, the present and pre- 
terit indicative are alike in the singular, but different in the 
plural ; also, that the present and imperfect subjunctive 
are alike throughout, except in the 3d singular. 

208. The verb hair hate loses its diaeresis (that is, has 
its a and i united into a diphthong) in the singular persons 
of the present indicative and of the imperative. These two 
tenses are thus inflected : 

Present Indicative. Imperative. 

je hais nous haissons haissons 

tu hais vous halssez hais haissez 

il hait ils haissent 

THIKD KEGULAE CONJUGATION. 

209. The verbs of the third conjugation, with 
infinitive ending in re, are but few in number. 
As model of their conjugation may be taken the 
verb vendre sell. 

a. The synopsis of principal and derived parts 
is : 

vendre vendant vendu vends vendis 

vendrai vendais avoir vendu vends vendisse 

vendrais vende etc. etc. 

b. The full inflection of the simple tenses is : 

Infinitive, sell, to sell 
vendre (a vendre, de vendre) 



Present Participle, 


selling 




Past Participle, sold 


vendant 




Indicative. 


vendu 




Present, I sell, i 


etc. 


je vends 






nous vendons 


tu vends 






vous vendez 


il vend 






ils vendent 



88 



VERBS. 



[209 



Imperiect, I was selling, etc. 



is : 



je vendais 




nous vendions 


tu vendais 




vous vendiez 


il vendait 


Preterit, Isold, etc. 


ils vendaient 


je vendis 




nous vendimes 


tu vendis 




vous vendites 


il vendit 


Future, I shall sell, etc. 


ils vendirent 


je vendrai 




nous vendrons 


tu vendras 




vous vendrez 


il vendra 




ils vendront 




Conditional, I should sell, etc. 


je vendrais 




nous vendrions 


tu vendrais 




vous vendriez 


il vendrait 


Imperative, sell, etc. 


ils vendraient 
vendons 


vends 


Subjunctive. 
Present, that I may sell, etc 


vendez 


que je vende 




que nous vendions 


que tu vendes 




que vous vendiez 


qu'il vende 




qu'ils vendent 



Imperfect, that I might seU, etc. 



que je vendisse 
que tu vendisses 
qu'il vendit 



que nous vendissions 
que vous vendissiez 
qu'ils vendissent 



c. Of the compound tenses, the brief synopsis 



Perp. Infin. 
Perf. Part. 
Indic. Perf. 

Plupf. 

Pjlst Ant. 



avoir vendu, to have sold 
ayant vendu, having sold 
j'ai vendu, I have sold 
j'avais vendu. I had sold 
j'eus vendu, I had sold 



210] THIRD REGULAR CONJUGATION. 89 

Fut. Perp. j'aurai vendu, I shall have sold 

Cond. Perf. j'aurais vendu, I should have sold 

Subj. Perf. que j'aie vendu, that I may have sold 

Plupf. que j'eusse vendu, that I might have sold 

d. Notice that the verbs of this conjugation have differ- 
ent vowels in the endings of the preterit and of the past 
participle: thus, vendis, vendu. In nearly all other verbs, 
regular and irregular, these two forms agree in vowel. 

210. Two or three verbs of this conjugation have slight 
irregularities, which are best pointed out here. 

a. Vaincre conquer is perfectly regular to the ear, but is 
necessarily spelt with qu instead of c before e and i (58a), 
and then also before a and o ; the c remaining only before 
u, before a consonant, and as final. The synopsis of prin- 
cipal and derived parts is as follows : 

vaincre vainquant vaincu vaincs vainquis 

vaincrai vainquais avoir vaincu vaincs vainquisse 
vaincrais vainque etc. etc. 

The pres. indicative and imperative (in which alone any 
change of spelling occurs in inflection) are as follows : 

Present Indicative. Imperative. 

je vaincs nous vainquons vainquons 

tu vaincs vous vainquez vaincs vainquez 

il vainc ils vainquent 

The compound con vaincre convince is conjugated in the 
same manner. 

b. Rompre break adds a t in the 3d sing, indie, present : 
thus, il rompt (not romp) ; in all other respects it is regu- 
lar. 

c. Battre beat loses one of its two t's in the singular of 
the pres. indicative and of the imperative, which are thus 
inflected : 

Present Indicative. Imperative. 

je bats nous battons battons 

tu bats vous battez bats battez 

il bat ils battent 

The rest is regular. 



90 VERBS. [210 

Exercise 11. 
verbs of the second and third conjugations. 

VOCABULARY. 

choisir, choose batir, build 

hair, hate attendre, await, expect 

perdre, lose entendre, hear 

rendre, return, give back le maitre, the master, teacher 

la tache, the task la voix, the voice 

la lettre, the letter encore f still, again 

pourquoi, why? 



1. Les enfants n'ont-ils pas fini leur tache? 2. Le 
maitre les a punis parcequ'ils ne Pavaient pas finie. 3. 
lis hai'ssent leur maitre, parceqiPil les punit. 4. Si 
nous ne finissons pas notre tache an jour (Thm, nous le 
finirons demain. 5. Pourquoi vendites-vous la maison 
que vous avez batie ? 6. Nous la vendimes parceque 
nous avions perdu notre argent. 7. Quoique nous 
perdissions tout notre argent, nous ne vendrions point 
notre maison. 8. Qu'attendez-vous, monsieur ? 9. 
J'attends une lettre de ma fille. 10. Entendiez-vous 
la voix de cette jeune fille ? 11. Je Pai entendue hier, 
et je Pentendrai encore demain. 12. Cet homme 
attend son ami qui lui rendra Pargent qu'il lui a 
donne. 13. II attendait toute la journee, mais il ne 
vendait rien. 14. Choisissez un gateau, et je vous 
Pacheterai. 15. Est-ce que vous batissiez une maison 
& la ville ? 16. J'y batissais une maison, mais je Pai 
finie et vendue. 17. Ayant perdu son argent, il 
n'achetera plus rien. 



211] PASSIVE VERBS. 91 

II. 

1. Have you finished your task ? 2. No, but I 
shall have finished it to-morrow. 3. When you fin- 
ish this book, choose another. 4. We will not choose 
a history, because we hate history. 5. My father 
built a new church for the town, and he will build us 
a new house. 6. Were you choosing chairs for your 
new house ? 7. We were expecting a man who sells 
chairs, and who will sell us some. 8. Why do they 
not build a new house? 9. They have lost their 
money, and have sold their house. 10. Although 
they lost all their money, they did not sell their house. 
11. I heard a voice in the house, but I hear it no 
longer. 12. His friends gave him back the house 
which he had sold. 13. When you have finished the 
letter, give it back to me. 14. Having finished the 
book, I will sell it to you. 15. AVe punish you be- 
cause you lost what we gave you. 16. Do not punish 
me ; I found it yesterday and I will give it back to 
you. 

PASSIVE VERBS. 

211. The forms of the passive conjugation of a 
verb are made in French precisely as in English : 
namely, by prefixing the auxiliary etre be to a past 
participle. 

a. To make, then, any given passive form of a 
verb, add to the corresponding form of etre the 
past or passive participle of that verb : thus, he 
teas praised il 6tait lou6, he would have been praised 
il aurait 6t6 lou6. 



92 VERBS. [211 

6. The participle agrees in gender and number 

with the subject of the verb : thus, she ivas praised 

elle 6tait lou6e, they (m.) would have been praised ils 

auraient 6t6 lou6s. 

c. Note, however, that (132a), if vous is used to repre- 
sent a single person, the participle agrees with it only in 
gender : thus, you (sing, f.) will be praised, vous serez 
louee. 

212. a. Taking as an example the verb louer 

praise, the synopsis of simple passive tenses is as 

follows : 

Infinitive. 
etre loue (louee, loues, louees), be praised 
Present Participle. 
etant loue (etc.), being praised 
Indic. Pres., je suis loue (etc.), I am praised 
Impf., j'etais loue (etc.), 1 was praised 
Pret., je fus loue (etc.), I was praised 
Fut., je serai loue (etc.), I shall be praised 
Cond., je serais loue (etc.), I should be praised 
Imperative, sois loue (etc.), be praised 
Subj. Pres., que je sois loue (etc. ), that I may be praised 

Impf., que je fasse loue (etc.), that 1 might be praised 

b. The synopsis of compound passive tenses is : 
Perf. Infin., avoir ete loue (etc ), to have been praised 

Perf. Part., ayant ete loue (etc.), having been praised 

Indic. Perf., j'ai ete loue (etc.), I have been praised 

Plupf. , j 'avais ete loue (etc. ), 1 had been praised 
Past Ant., j'eus ete loue (etc.), I had been Raised 
Fut. Perf., j'aurai ete loue (etc.), 1 shall have been praised 
Cond. Perf., j'aurais ete loue (etc.), i" should have been 
praised 
Subj. Perf., que j'aie ete loue (etc.), that I may have been 

praised 
Plupf., que j'eusse ete loue (etc.), that I might have 

been praised 



216] REFLEXIVE VERBS. 93 

213. After a passive verb, by is generally rep- 
resented by par ; but sometimes also by de, if the 
verb expresses a mental action or feeling : thus, 
il est aim6 de tout le monde he is loved by everybody, 
il fut trouvS par le chien he tvas found by the dog. 

214. The passive is less used in French than in English ; 
instead of it often stand active verbs with the indefinite 
subject on (178), or reflexive verbs (215). 



REFLEXIVE VERBS. 

215. A verb is made reflexive, as in English, 
by adding to it an object-pronoun corresponding 
in person and number to the subject. 

a. Reflexive verbs are a much more marked and impor- 
tant class in French than in English. Some verbs are re- 
flexive exclusively, or nearly so ; others are often such ; 
and almost any transitive verb, and some intransitives, may 
upon occasion be used reflexively ; but the conjugation of 
them all is the same. 

216. a. The reflexive pronouns of the first 
and second persons are the same with the ordi- 
nary object-pronouns : namely, me and te (or toi) 
in the singular, nous and vous in the plural. For 
the third person there is a special reflexive pro- 
noun, se; it is the same in singular and plural. 

b. The place of the reflexive pronoun is the 
same with that of any other object-pronoun (136 
and 137): namely, in general before the verb, but 
after it in the imperative affirmative (when te be- 
comes toi: 1356). 



94 VERBS. [217 

217. The auxiliary of a verb used reflexively 
is always and only etre. 

a. In accordance with the general rule (191a), 
if the reflexive object is a direct one, the parti- 
ciple in the compound tenses agrees with it in 
gender and number ; if it is indirect, the parti- 
ciple is invariable. Thus, from se blesser wound 
one's self, il s'est blessS, elle s'est blessSe, nous nous 
sommes blesses ; but from s'imaginer imagine to one's 
self, il s'est imaging elle s'est imaging nous nous 
sommes imaging. 

218. As a model of reflexive conjugation may 
be taken the verb se rSjouir delight one's self re- 
joice. 

It is a regular verb of the second conjugation, inflected 
like finir (207). 

a. The full inflection of the present indicative 

and imperative, with the synopsis of the other 

simple tenses, is : 

Infinitive. 
se (or te, me etc.) rejouir, rejoice 

Present Participle. 
se (etc.) rejouissant, rejoicing 

Indicative. 
Present. 

je me rejouis, I rejoice nous nous rejouissons, we rejoice 

tu te rejouis, thou rejoicest vous vous rejouissez, you rejoice 

il se rejouit, he rejoices ils se rejouissent, they rejoice 

Imperfect, je me rejouissais, 1 was rejoicing 
Preterit, je me rejouis, I rejoiced 

Future, je me rejouirai, I shall rejoice 

Conditional, je me rejouirais, I should rejoice 



219] REFLEXIVE VERBS. 95 

Imperative. 

rejouissons-nous, let us rejoice 
rejouis-toi, rejoice {thou) rejouissez-vous, rejoice {ye) 

Subjunctive. 
Present, que je me rejouisse, that I may rejoice 
Imperfect, que je me rejouisse, that I might rejoice 

b. The full inflection of the perfect indicative, 

with the synopsis of the other compound forms, 

next follows. 

To save burdensome repetition, the various forms of the 
reflexive pronoun (in infin. and pple) and of the past par- 
ticiple (which in this verb must agree in gender and num- 
ber with the object) are not given. 

Perfect Infinitive. Perfect Participle. 

s'etre rejoui, (to) have rejoiced s'etant rejoui, having rejoiced 

Indicative. 
Perfect. 

je me suis rejoui, I have rejoiced nous nous sommes rejouis, we 

have rejoiced 

tu t'es rejoui, thou hast rejoiced vous vous etes rejouis, you 

have rejoiced 

il s'est rejoui, he lias rejoiced ils se sont rejouis, they have 

re 



Pluperfect, je m'etais rejoui, I had rejoiced 

Past Anterior, je me fus rejoui, Iliad rejoiced 

Future Perfect, je me serai rejoui, I shall have rejoiced 

Conditional Perfect, je me serais rejoui, I should have re- 



Subjunctive Perfect, que je me sois rejoui, that I may have 

rejoiced 
Pluperfect, que je me fusse rejoui, that 1 might have 
rejoiced 

219. The negative and interrogative forms are 
made in the same manner as those of any other 



96 VERBS. [219 

verb taking object-pronouns. Examples are : je 
ne me r6jouis pas I do not rejoice, ne se r6jouit-il pas 
did he not rejoice ? vous r£jouissez-vous do you rejoice ? 
ne nous r6jouissons pas let us not rejoice, vous ne vous 
serez pas rSjouis you (pi.) will not have rejoiced, 
qu'elle ne se fut pas r&jouie that she might not have 
rejoiced, ne se sont-elles pas r&jouies have they (f.) not 
rejoiced ? 

220. a. Many reflexive verbs (like se rejouir itself) have 
to be rendered with simple verbs in English. 

b. A number of reflexive verbs followed by certain prepo- 
sitions form transitive expressions of special meaning. 

Thus, il s'approcha du feu he approached the fire, ils se 
mirent a ecrire they began to write, elle ne peut se servir 
de ses mains she cannot use her hands. 

221. Plural reflexive forms are often used in a recipro- 
cal sense : thus, aimons-nous let us love one another, ils 
s'aiment they love each other, and so on. 

IMPERSONAL VERBS. 

222. A few verbs in French, as in other lan- 
guages, are used only in the 3d singular, with the 
indefinite or impersonal subject il it, and are 
therefore called impersonal verbs. Those often- 
est so used are : geler freeze (il gele it freezes, il a 
gel6, etc.), dSgeler thaiv, greler hail, neiger snow, 
pleuvoir rain, tonner thunder. 

a. These verbs are conjugated like any others (always 
with the auxiliary avoir), except that only the 3d sing, is 
in use. Pleuvoir is irregular : see 227, 47. 

223. Many other verbs are used in great part 
impersonally, with il as subject, and often in a 



225] IMPERSONAL VERBS. 97 

somewhat special meaning. Thus, il importe (etc.) 
it is of consequence, il convient it is suitable or 
proper, il arrive it happens, il vaut mieux it is better, 
il s'agit the question is. 

224. Almost any verb may take the impersonal subject 
il representing by anticipation its real subject, stated later: 
thus : il vient un autre there comes another, il parait 
qu'elle n'y etait pas it appears that she was not there. 

225. The English expression there is, there are, 
etc., is represented in French by the verb avoir, 
used impersonally with the adverb y there before 
it: thus, il y a there is or are (literally, it has there), 
il n'y a pas there is not, y a-t-il eu has there been ? il 
n'y aura pas there will not be, n'y aurait-il pas eu 
would there not have been ? qu'il y eut eu that there 
might have been. 

a. Since the following noun is in French grammatically 
the object of the verb, and not its subject as in English, 
there is of course no change of number in the verb when 
the noun becomes plural : thus, il y avait un oiseau there 
was a bird, and il y avait quatre oiseaux there were four 
birds (literally, it had there one bird, four birds). 

b. Even the infinitive, y avoir, is used, along with certain 
verbs having the value of auxiliaries: thus, il peut y avoir 
there may be, il ne doit pas y avoir eu there ought not to 
have been. 

c. II y a etc. is often used, elliptically, in expressing ex- 
tent or distance of time reckoned backward from the pres- 
ent: thus, il y a huit jours qu'il est malade he has been ill 
{these) eight days (literally, there are eight days that he 
[has been and] is ill), je le vis il y a deux mois I saw him 
two months ago (literally, I saw him, there are two months 
[since]). 

d. II est etc. is also used impersonally, especially in poe- 
try, instead of il y a etc. 



98 VERBS. [226 

226. a. In speaking of the conditions of the weather, the 
French uses il fait etc., it makes etc., with a noun or ad- 
jective, where the English uses it is : see 227, 28. 

b. For the impersonal verb falloir be necessary and its 
use see 227, 29. 



Exercise 12. 

PASSIVE, IMPERSONAL, AND REFLEXIVE VERBS. 
VOCABULARY. 

inviter, invite chasser, hunt, drive out 

se lever, rise, get up se coucher, go to bed 

se moquer de, ridicule, mock sembler, seem 

neiger, snow geler,f?°eeze 

le bal, the ball le royaume, the kingdom 

le roi, the king la reine, the queen 
le peuple, the people, nation 

I. 

1. Le roi est-il aime du peuple ? 2. Non, le roi 
n/est aime de personne, mais la reine est aimee de tout 
le monde. 3. Les rois de France ont ete chasses de 
leur royaume. 4. Le peuple s'est rejoui, parcequ'on 
a chasse ses rois. 5. Ma sceur s'est couchee il y a 
deux heures. 6. Nous nous couchons a neuf heures 
et nous nous levons a sept heures. 7. Est-ce que ces 
dames sont invitees au bal ? 8. Elles se sont couchees 
parcequ'elles n'y ont pas ete invitees. 9. Les enfants 
se rejouissaient parcequ'il avait neige toutela journee. 
10. II n'a pas gele hier, mais il gelera ce soir. 11. II 
me semble que ces enfants se moquent de moi. 12. 
lis ne se sont pas moques de vous, ils se moquent de 
leur maitre. 13. Y a-t-il eu un bal hier ? 14. Oui, 






227] IRREGULAR VERBS. 99 

madame et il y ayait beaucoup de dames et de 
messieurs^ parce que le roi y etait aussi. 

ii. 

1. There were kings in France, but they were 
driven from the kingdom. 2. The people rejoiced be- 
cause there was no king in France. 3. Why did you 
rejoice ? 4. I rejoice because it is snowing. 5. Are 
you invited to the ball ? 6. Although we are invited 
to it, we shall go to bed at nine o'clock. 7. It seems 
to me that you are unhappy. 8. I am unhappy because 
the other children mock me. 9. There was no church 
in this town, but there is one now. 10. There will 
be no ball to-morrow because the queen is ill. 11. 
The queen is much loved by her people. 12. This 
lady rejoiced {perfect) because the gloves which she 
had lost were found by the boy. 13. When I got up 
it was still freezing. 14. It seems that it snowed yes- 
terday. 

IEREGULAE VERBS. 

227. Those verbs in French which are inflect- 
ed throughout like one or other of the three — 
donner, finir, vendre — already given, are called 
regular verbs. But there are also manv others 
in the language deviating more or less from these 
models, and they are called irregular verbs. 

a. The irregular verbs are one of the principal difficulties 
of French Grammar. They are of various degrees of irregu- 
larity : some are irregular only in their principal parts, all 
the derived parts coming from them precisely as in the 
verbs of the three regular conjugations; others are irregular 



100 VERBS. [227 

also in the formation of the derived parts (only the impf. 
subj. coming without any exception regularly from the pret. 
indie. ). But, in all of them, irregularities of tense-inflection 
are confined to the three present tenses — the present indi- 
cative, the imperative, and the present subjunctive. Of 
the other tenses, when the first person is known, the rest 
follow from it with certainty. 

b. The only rules for the formation of the de- 
rived parts are those already given for regular 
verbs (199). Of more special importance among 
the irregular verbs is the rule for finding the 
plural persons of the present from the present 
participle. 

c. In learning an irregular verb, the principal parts 
should first be mastered and made familiar, then the sy- 
nopsis, then the inflection of the present tenses when this is 
in any way irregular. The synopsis of principal and de- 
rived parts will be given in the following table for every 
irregular verb or for one of every group of like verbs, as well 
as the inflection of the present tenses when called for. The 
plural persons of the imperative are always the same as the 
first and second persons plural of the pres. indie, (except in 
avoir, §tre, and savoir). In the synopsis, those derived 
parts which do not come regularly from the principal parts 
will have attention called to them by being printed with 
spaced or open letters. 

d. Reference figures in the table refer to the explanation 
of special idiomatic uses of certain verbs, which follows 
the table. 



TABLE OF IEKEGULAR VERBS. 

1. absoudre absolve. 

Infinitive, Pres, Ppl., Past Ppl., Pres. Indic., Pret. Indic., 
etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. 

absoudre absolvant absous absouds absolus 

like resoudre except in past pple. 



227] 



TABLE OF IRREGULAR VERBS. 



101 



2. acquerir acquire. 



Infinitive, 


Pres. Ppl., 


Past Ppl., Pres. Indic, 


Pret. Indic, 


etc. 


etc. 


ETC. ETC. 


etc. 


acquerir 


acquerant 


acquis acquiers 


acquis 


acquer- 








rai 


acquerais 


avoir acquis acquiers 




acquer- 




etc., etc. 




rais 


aequiere 




acquisse 



pres. ind. acquiers, -quiers, -quiert, -querons, -querez, -quierent 
pres. subj. aequiere, -quieres, -quiere, -querions, -queriez, 
-quierent 

3. aller 1 go. 

aller allant alle vais allai 

i r a i allais etre alle va allasse 

irais aille etc., etc. 

pres. indic. vais, vas, va, allons, allez, vont 

pres. subj. aille, ailles, aille, allions, alliez, aillent 

4. assaillir assail. 

assaillir assaillant assailli assaille assaillis 

assaillirai assaillais avoir assailli assailles assaillisse 

assaillirais assaille etc. 

pres. indic. assaille, -sailles, -saille, -saillons, -saillez, -saillent. 





5. asseoir sit. 




asseoir asseyant 
assierai asseyais 
assie- 


assis assieds 
etre assis assieds 
etc. 


assis 
assisse 


r a i s asseye 
pres. indic. assieds, 


assieds, assied, asseyons, asseyez 
6. boire drink. 


, asseyent 


boire buvant 
boirai buvais 


bu bois 
avoir bu bois 


bus 
busse 



boirais boive etc. 

pres. indic. bois, bois, boft, buvons, buvez, boivent 
pres. subj. boive, boives, boive, buvions, buviez, boivent 



7. bouillir boil. 
bouillir bouillant bouilli bous bouillis 

bouillirai bouillais avoir bouilli bous bouillisse 

bouillirais bouille etc. 

pres. indic. bous, bous, bout, bouillons, bouillez, bouillent 



102 VERBS. [227 

8. bruire roar. 

Infinitive, Pres. Ppl., Past Ppl., Pres. Indic., Pret. Indic., 
etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. 

bruire bruyant il bruit 

9. circoncire circumcise. 

circoncire circoncisant circoncis circoncis circoncis 
like suffire except in past pple. 



10. 


clore close. 


clore [closant] 

clorai 

clorais close 

pres. indic. clos, 


clos clos 
avoir clos 
etc. 
clos, clot, , , closent 


11. 


conclure conclude. 


conclure concluant 
conclurai concluais 
conclurais conclue 


conclu conclus conclus 
avoir conclu conclus conclusse 
etc. 



pres. indic. conclus > -clus, -clut, -cluons, -cluez, -cluent 

12. conduire conduct. 

conduire conduisant conduit conduis conduisis 

conduirai conduisais avoir conduit conduis conduisisse 

conduirais conduise etc. 

pres. indic. conduis, -duis, -duit, -duisons, -duisez, -duisent 

13. confire preserve. 

confire conusant count conns conns 

like suffire except in past pple. 

14. coudre sew. 

coudre cousant cousu couds cousis 

coudrai cousais avoir cousu couds cousisse 

coudrais couse etc. 

pres. indic. couds, couds, coud, cousons, cousez, cousent 

15. courir run. 

courir courant couru cours courus 

c o u r r a i courais avoir couru cours courusse 

courrais coure etc. 

pres. indic. cours, cours, court, courons, courez, courent 



227] 



TABLE OF IRREGULAR VERBS. 



103 



16. couvrir cover. 



Infinitive, 


Pres. Ppl., 


Past Ppl., Pres. Indic., 


Pret. Indic, 


etc. 


ETC. 


ETC. ETC. 


etc. 


couvrir 


couvrant 


couvert couvre 


couvris 


couvrirai 


couvrais 


avoir couvert couvre 


couvrisse 


couvrirais 


couvre 


etc. 





pres. indic. couvre, couvres, couvre, couvrons, couvrez, couvrent 



17. craindre/tfar. 

craindre craignant 

craindrai craignais 

craindrais craigne 

pres. indic. crains, crains, craint, craignons, craignez, craignent 



craint crains 

avoir craint crains 
etc. 



craignis 
craignisse 



18. croire 2 believe. 

croire croyant 

croirai croyais 

croirais croie 

pres. indic crois, crois, croit, croyons, croyez, croient 



cru 


crois 


cms 


avoir cru 


crois 


crusse 


etc. 







19. croitre grow. 



crois 
crois 



crus 
crusse 



croitre croissant cru 

croitrai croissais avoir cru 

croitrais croisse etc. 

pres. indic. crois, crois, croit, croissons, croissez, croissent 
Compounds of croitre have no circumflex in past ppl. 



20. cueillir gather. 
cueillant cueilli cueille 



avoir cueilli cueille 



cueillis 
cueillisse 



cueillir 

cueil- 
le r a i cueillais 

cueil- 
le r a i s cueille etc. 

pres. indic. cueille, cueilles, cueille, cueillons, cueillez, cueillent 



dechoir 
decher- 

rai 
decher- 

rais 



21. dechoir fall. 
[dechoyant] dechu dechois 

dechoyais avoir dechu dechois 



dechus 
dechusse 



dechoie 



etc. 



pres. indic. dechois, -chois, -choit, -choyons, -choyez, -choient 



104 



VERBS. 



[227 





22. 


devoir 3 owe. 


Infinitive, 


Pres. Ppl., 


Past Ppl., 


ETC. 


ETC. 


ETC. 


devoir 


devant 


du 


devrai 


devais 


avoir du 


devrais 


doive 


etc. 



Pres. Indic, Pret. Indic, 
etc. etc. 

dois dus 

dois dusse 

pres. indic. dois, dois, doit, devons, devez, doivent 
pres. subj. doive, doives, doive, devions, deviez, doivent 



23. dire 4 say, tell. 

dire disant dit dis dis 

dirai disais avoir dit dis disse 

dirais dise etc. 

pres. indic. dis, dis, dit, disons, dites, disent 

24. dormir sleep. 

dormir dormant dormi dors dormis 

dormirai dormais avoir dormi dors dormisse 

dormirais dorme etc. 

pres. indic. dors, dors, dort, dormons, dormez, dorment 

25. ecrire write. 

ecrire ecrivant ecrit ecris ecrivis 

ecrirai ecrivais avoir ecrit ecris ecrivisse 

ecrirais ecrive etc. 

pres. indic. ecris, ecris, ecrit, ecrivons, ecrivez, ecrivent 



26. envoyer send. 

envoye envoie 



avoir envoye envoie 



envoyai 
envoyasse 



envoyer envoyant 
enver- 

r a i envoyais 
enver- 

r a i s envoie etc. 

pres. indic. envoie, envoies, envoie, envoyons, envoyez, envoient 



faillir 

faillirai 

faillirais 



faillant] 

faillais] 
faille] 



27. faillir 5 miss. 

failli [faux] 

avoir failli 



[faillis] 



227] TABLE OF IRREGULAR VERBS. 105 

28. faire 6 make, do. 

Infinitive, Pres. Ppl., Past Ppl., Pres. Indic., Pret. Indic, 

ETC. ETC. ETC. ETC. ETC. 

faire faisant fait fais fis 

ferai faisais avoir fait fais fisse 

ferais fasse etc. 

pres. indic. fais, fais, fait, faisons, faites, font 

29. falloir 7 be necessary. 

falloir [fallant] fallu faut fallut 

faudra fallait a fallu fallut 

faudrait faille etc. 

Used only impersonally. 

30. frire fry. 

frire frit fris fris 

frirai avoir frit fris frisse 

frirais 

pres. indic. fris, fris, frit, frions, friez, frient 

31. fuir^. 

fuir fuyant fui fuis fuis 

fuirai fuyais avoir fui fuis fuisse 

fuirais fuie etc. 

pres. indic. fuis, fuis, fuit, fuyons, fuyez, fuient 

32. gesir lie. 

gesir gisant gis 

gisais 

pres. indic. , , git, gisons, gisez, gisent 

33. joindre join. 

joindre joignant joint joins joignis 

joindrai joignais avoir joint joins joignisso 

joindrais joigne etc. 

pres. indic. joins, joins, joint, joignons, joignez, joignent 

34. lire read. 

lire lisant lu lis lis 

lirai lisais avoir lu lis lisse 

lirais Use etc. 

pi'es. indic. lis, lis, lit, lisons, lisez, lisent 



106 YER3S. [227 

35. maudire curse. 

Infinitive, Pres. Ppl., Past Ppl., Pres. Indic, Pret. Indic, 
etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. 

maudire maudissant maudit maudis maudis 

maudirai maudissais avoir maudit maudis maudisse 

maudirais maudisse etc. 

pres. indic. maudis, -dis, -dit, -dissons, -dissez, -dissent 

36. mettre^tf. 

mettre mettant mis mets mis 

mettrai mettais avoir mis mets misse 

mettrais mette etc. 

pres. indic. mets, mets, met, mettons, mettez, mettent 

37. moudre grind. 

moudre moulant moulu mouds moulus 

moudrai moulais avoir moulu mouds moulusse 

moudrais moule etc. 

pres. indic. mouds, mouds, moud, moulons, moulez, moulent 

38. mourir die. 

mourir mourant mort meurs mourus 

mourrai mourais etre mort meurs mourusse 

mourrais meure etc. 

pres. indic. meurs, meurs, meurt, mourons, mourez, meurent 
pres. subj. meure, meures, meure, mourions, mouriez, meurent 



35 


h mouvoir move. 




mouvoir mouvant 


mu meus 


mus 


m o u v r a i mouvais 


avoir mu meus 


musse 


mouvrais meuve 


etc. 





pres. indic. meus, meus, meut, mouvons, mouvez, meuvent 
pres. subj. meuve, meuves, meuve, mouvions, mouviez, meuvent 

40. naitre 8 be born. 

naitre naissant ne nais naquis 

naitrai naissais etre ne nais naquisse 

naitrais naisse etc. 

pres. indic. nais, nais, nait, naissons, naissez, naissent 



227] TABLE OF IRREGULAR VERBS. 107 

41. nuire injure. 

Infinitive, Pres. Ppl., Past Ppl., Pres. Indic, Pret. Indic, 

ETC. ETC. ETC. ETC. ETC. 

nuire nuisant nui nuis nuisis 

nuirai nuisais avoir nui nuis 

nuirais nuise etc. 

pres. indic. nuis, nuis, nuit, nuisons, nuisez, nuisent 



oulr 

[o i r a i] 



42. oulr near. 

oyant] oul [ois] [ouls] 

oyais] avoir oul [ois] [ouisse] 



[oirais] [oie] etc. 

43. paraitre appear. 

paraitre paraissant paru parais parus 

paraitrai paraissais avoir paru parais parusse 

paraitrais paraisse etc. 

pres. indic. parais, -rais, -rait, -raissons, -raissez, -raissent 

44. partir depart. 

partir partant parti pars partis 

partirai partais etre or pars partisse 

partirais parte avoir parti 

pres. indic. pars, pars, part, partons, partez, partent 

45. peindre paint. 

peindre peignant peint peins peignis 

peindrai peignais avoir peint peins peignisse 

peindrais peigne etc. 

pres. indic. peins, peins, peint, peignons, peignez, peignent 

46. plaire 9 please. 

plaire plaisant plu plais plus 

like taire, except 3d pers. sing, of pres. indic. il plait. 

47. pleuvoir rain. 

pleuvoir pleuvant plu pleut pint 

p 1 e u v r a pleuvait avoir plu plut 

p 1 e u- pleuve etc. 

vrait 

Impersonal only. 



108 



YERBS. 



[227 



48. pour voir provide. 



Infinitive, 
etc. 



Pres. Ppl., 

ETC. 



Past Ppl., 

ETC. 



Pres. Indic, Pret. Indic, 

ETC. ETC. 



pourvoir pourvoyant pourvu pourvois pourvus 

pourvoirai pourvoyais avoir pourvu pourvois pourvusse 
pourvoirais pourvoie etc. 

pres. indic. and subj. like voir. 
49. pouvoir 10 be able. 



pouvoir pouvant 


pu 


peux or 
puis 


pus 


p o u r r a i pouvais 


avoir pu 





pusse 


pourrais puisse 


etc. 







pres. indic. peux or puis, peux, peut, pouvons, pouvez, peuvent 

50. prendre take. 

prendre prenant pris prends pris 

prendrai prenais avoir pris prends prisse 

prendrais p r e n n e etc. 

pres. indic. prends, prends, prend, prenons, prenez, prennent 
pres. subj. prenne, prennes, prenne, prenions, preniez, prennent 



previs 



51. pre voir foresee. 
prevoir prevoyant prevu prevois 

like pourvoir except in preterit. 

52. recevoir receive. 



recevoir recevant regu reeds regus 

recevrai recevais avoir regu regois regusse 

recevrais regoive etc. 

pyres, indic. regois, regois, regoit, recevons, recevez, regoivent 
pres. subj. regoive, regoives, regoive, recevions, receviez, regoivent 

53, resoudre resolve. 



resoudre 


resolvant 


resolu 


resouds 


resolus 


resoudrai 


resolvais 


avoir resolu 


resouds 


resolusse 


resoudrais 


resolve 


etc. 







pres. indic. resouds, -souds, -soud, -solvons, -solvez, -solvent 



227] TABLE OF IRREGULAR VERBS. 109 







54. 


rire laugh 


Infinitive, 
etc. 


Pres. Ppl 

ETC. 


«» 


Past Ppl., 

ETC. 


rire 

rirai 

rirais 


riant 
riais 
rie 




ri 
avoir ri 

etc. 



ris ris 

ris risse 



pres. indie, ris, ris, rit, rions, riez, rient 
55. savoir 11 know. 



savoir 


sachant 


su 


sais 


sus 


saurai 


sa vais 


avoir su 


sache 


susse 


saurais 


sache 


etc. 







pres. indie, sais, sais, sait, savons, savez, savent 
imperative sache, sachons, sachez 

56. servir serve. 



servir 


servant 


servi 


sers 


servis 


servirai 


servais 


avoir servi 


sers 


servisse 


servirais 


serve 


etc. 







pres. indie, sers, sers, sert, servons, servez, servent 
57. suffire suffice. 



suffire 


suffisant 


suffi 


suffis 


suffis 


suffirai 


suffisais 


avoir suffi 


suffis 


suffisse 


suffirais 


suflB.se 


etc. 







pres. indie, suffis, suffis, suffit, suffisons, suffisez, suffisent 
58. suivre follow. 



suivre 


suivant 


suivi 


suis 


suivis 


suivrai 


suivais 


avoir suivi 


suis 


suivisse 


suivrais 


suive 


etc. 







pres. indie, suis, suis, suit, suivons, suivez, suivent 
59. taire be silent. 



ire taisant 


tu 


tais 


tus 


irai taisais 


avoir tu 


tais 


tusse 


irais taise 


etc. 







pres. indie, tais, tais, tait, taisons, taisez, taisent 



110 VERBS. [227 

60. traire draw. 

Infinitive, Pres. Ppl., Past Ppl., Pres. indic, Pret. Indic, 

ETC. ETC. ETC. ETC. ETC. 

traire trayant trait trais 

trairai trayais avoir trait trais 

trairais traie etc. 

pres. iridic, trais, trais, trait, trayons, trayez, traient 

61. valoir 12 be worth. 

valoir valant valu vaux valus 

v a u d r a i valais avoir valu vaux valusse 

vaudrais vaille etc. 

pres. indic. vaux, vaux, vaut, valons, valez, valent 
pi % es. subj. vaille, vailles, vaille, valions, valiez, vaillent 

62. venir 13 come. 



venir venant 


venu 


viens 


vins 


viendrai venais 


etre venu 


viens 


vinsse 


viendr ai s v ienne 


etc. 







pres. indic. viens, viens, vient, venons, venez, viennent 
pres. subj. vienne, viennes, vienne, venions, veniez, viennent 

63. vetir clothe. 

vetir vetant vetu vets vetis 

vetirai vetais avoir vetu vets vetisse 

vetirais vete etc. 

pres. indic. vets, vets, vet, vetons, vetez, vetent 

64 vivre 14 live. 

vivre vivant vecu vis vecus 

vivrai vivais avoir vecu vis vecusse 

vivrais vive etc. 

pres. indic. vis, vis, vit, vivons, vivez, vivent 

65. voir see. 

voir voyant vu vois vis 

v e r r a i voyais avoir vu vois visse 

verrais voie etc. 

pres. indic. vois, vois, voit, voyons, voyez, voient 
pres. subj. voie, voies, voie, voyions, voyiez, voient 



228] IDIOMATIC USES OF IRREGULAR VERBS. Ill 

66. vouloir 15 will. 

Infinitive, Pres. Ppl., Past Ppl., Pres. Indic, Pret. Indic, 
etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. 

vouloir voulant voulu veux voulus 

vondrai voulais avoir voulu voulusse 

voudraisveuille etc. 

pj*es. indic. veux, veux, veut, voulons, voulez, veulent 

pres. subj. veuille, veuilles, veuille, voulions, vouliez, veuillent 



SPECIAL IDIOMATIC USES OF SOME OF THE IRREGULAR 
VERBS. 

228. 1. Aller. a. Va 2d sing. impv. becomes vas before 
en and y (compare 200, d). 

b. The present and imperfect indic. of aller are used be- 
fore an infinitive (without infinitive-sign), precisely like I 
am going, I was going in English, as a sort of immediate 
future tense, or to denote something just about to take 
place : thus, il va partir he is going to leave, j'allais lui 
repondre I was going to answer him. 

c. Allons let us go is used in the sense of come, come on. 
Aller voir, aller chercher correspond to our visit, and 
look for or fetch. With the reflexive s'en aller go off, the 
indirect pronoun-object en always follows the other pro- 
noun : thus, je m'en vais I am going off, il s'en est alle 
he has gone away, va-t'en be off. 

2. Croire in French is followed by an infinitive without 
infinitive-sign, where in English we use instead a dependent 
clause, or insert a reflexive pronoun: thus, je crois l'avoir 
dit / think {myself) to have said it, or / think that 1 have 
said it. 

3. Devoir, a. The past participle has the circumflex only 
in the masc. sing, (to distinguish it from du = de le) ; the 
other forms are due, dus, dues. 

b. Doit etc. very often signifies is to, is planned or des- 
tined to : thus, il doit venir chez nous demain he is to 
come to us to-morrow, je savais ce que je devais faire I 
knew what I was to do. In many cases it has the sense of 
must, have to, etc.: thus, elle a du etre belle dans sa 
jeunesse she must have been beautiful in her youth. The 



112 VERBS. [228 

meaning ought belongs especially to the conditional : thus, 
quand devrais-je revenir when ought I to come back f il 
aurait dti le faire he ought to have done it. 

4. Dire. Common phrases containing dire are : on dit 
or il se dit it is said; c'est a dire that is to say, that is; 
a dire vrai to tell the truth ; pour ainsi dire so to speak ; 
cela va sans dire that does not need to be stated or is a 
matter of course (literally, goes without saying). Vouloir 
dire (literally, ivish to say) means signify, mean. 

5. Faillir. The perfect j'ai failli etc. is used with a 
following infinitive in the sense come near, just escape: 
thus, j'ai failli tomber I came witlmi an ace of falling. 

6. Faire has many special uses and idioms; among them 
may be noticed here: 

a. It is used impersonally in describing the conditions of 
the weather. 

Thus, il fait froid it is cold, il faisait chaud it was 
warm, il fera beau temps it will be fine weather ; even il 
fait du vent it is windy, il a fait des eclairs it has light- 
ened ; and so on. 

b. It is much used in the sense of cause to, etc., with a 
following infinitive, or as an auxiliary forming a kind of 
causative verb-phrase. 

Thus, je le fais savoir I cause to know it (i.e. make it 
known), il les a fait venir he has made them come, vous 
ferez faire un habit you will have a coat made (literally, 
will cause to make a coat). 

If the following infinitive has a direct object, the object 
of faire itself must be made indirect : thus, je le fais ecrire 
I make him write, but je lui fais ecrire une lettre I make 
him write a letter. 

c. Faire is sometimes (but much less often than do in 
English) used to avoid the repetition of a preceding verb : 
thus, je lui ai ecrit, comme je devais le faire I wrote him, 
as I ought to do. 

7. Since falloir is impersonal only, while the equivalent 
English expressions, must, have to, be obliged to, etc., admit 
subjects of all persons and numbers, the sentence has to be 
cast into a quite different form in French. 

a. II faut etc. is oftenest followed by que that before 



228] IDIOMATIC USES OF IRREGULAR VERBS. 113 

the verb which in English takes must as its auxiliary. This 
verb must in French always be in the subjunctive : present 
if the tense of falloir is present or future, otherwise imper- 
fect. Thus: he must work il faut qull travaille (literally, 
it is necessary that he work), you must read il faut que 
vous lisiez, the boy had to go il fallait que le garcon allat, 
the army will be obliged to retreat il faudra que Tarmee 
se retire, the books would have had.to be sold il aurait fallu 
que les livres fussent vendus. 

b. But, if the subject be a pronoun, a briefer expression 
is more often used, the subject being made indirect object 
of the tense of falloir, which is then followed by the infini- 
tive of the other verb : thus, he must work il lui faut tra- 
vailler (literally, it is necessary to him to work), you must 
read il vous faut lire, she had to go il lui fallait aller, 
they will be obliged to withdraw il leur faudra se retirer. 

c. II faut etc. is also used with a following subject-noun 
to express that something is lacking or desired: thus, il me 
faut un chapeau I want a hat (literally, there is wanting 
to me a hat), vous fallait-il des livres did you want some 
books f 

8. The perfect of the verb naitre, je suis ne, etc., is used 
in the sense of teas born, if the person spoken of is still 
living. 

9. Plaire is much used impersonally, especially in the 
phrase s'il vous plait if you please. 

10. Pouvoir. a. Puis and peux are equally common as 1st 
sing. In questions, however, only puis-je is used. 

b. Pouvoir sometimes expresses general possibility, and 
is to be rendered by may, might, etc. : thus, cela peut §tre 
that may be, il pouvait avoir vingt ans he might {perhaps) 
be 20 years old. It is sometimes used reflexively, in the 
sense of be possible : thus, cela se peut that is possible. 

e. Pouvoir often takes an object directly where in Eng- 
lish we have to use another verb : thus, peut-il attendre 
can he wait f il le peut he can (do) it. 

d. When this verb is made negative before an infinitive, 
the pas is often omitted : thus, cela ne peut tarder that 
cannot delay. The omission is more usual with puis than 
with peux in 1st sing, present. 



114 VERBS. [228 

11. Savoir. a. With an object and a predicate relating 
to it, savoir means know to be : thus, je le sais modeste 1 
know him to be modest ; with a following infinitive, it means 
know how : thus, il sait se taire he knows how to hold his 
tongue. 

b. The pres. subj. je sache, etc. is in certain phrases 
used like an indicative : thus, je ne sache personne qui i" 
know no one who, etc. ; que je sache so far as I know. The 
conditional saurais is used (negatively) in the sense of can, 
be able : thus, ils ne sauraient servir they are unable to be 
of tcse. 

c. The phrase je ne sais quoi (or qui, quel, etc.) is much 
used in the sense of something, I can't tell what, etc. 

d. Savoir is very often conjugated negatively with ne 
alone (pas being omitted). 

12. Valoir. Be worth more is valoir mieux ; be worth 
the trouble or be worth while is valoir la peine. 

13. a. Venir is followed by an infinitive directly (without 
a or de), when it means come in order to do anything : 
thus, il est venu me voir he came to see me, venez diner 
chez nous come and dine with us. 

b. The present and imperfect indicative of venir followed 
by de are used before an infinitive to signify time just past : 
thus, je viens de le voir I have just seen him, il venait de 
diner he had just dined. 

Such phrases mean literally 7" am coming from, he was 
coming from, etc., and are the exact opposite of I am going 
to (e.g. je vais le voir I am going to seehim), he was going 
to (il allait diner he was going to dine), etc. 

14. Vivre. The pres. subj. is used in good wishes for 
English long live : thus, vive le roi long live the king. 

15. Vouloir. The regular imperative veux voulons vou- 
lez is very rarely used ; instead of it, the 2d pers. sing, and 
plur. veuille veuillez are used, but only with a following 
infinitive, and in the sense of please to, be good enough to: 
thus, veuillez vous asseoir please sit down. 

b. Vouloir is used with the infinitive of another verb al- 
most as an auxiliary, and must stand for our will whenever 
a wish or request is implied: thus, voulez-vous diner chez 
nous will you dine with us ? It also signifies wish to have, 
want : as voulez vous du lait will you have some milk f 



228] EXERCISES ON IRREGULAR VERBS. 115 

c. En vouloir, folio wed by a, means have a grudge against, 
be vexed or angry at, be hostile to, etc. : thus, il en voulait a 
ce pauvre homme he bore a grudge against this poor man. 



EXERCISES ON THE MOST USED IRREGULAR 
VERBS. 

Exercise 13. 

VOCABULARY. 

dire (23), say, tell lire (34), read 

ecrire (25), write envoyer (26), send 

aller (3), go venir (62), come 

revenir (62), return renvoyer (26), send back 

le roman, the novel le journal, the newspaper 

I. 

1. Pourquoi allez-vous a Paris ? 2. J'y vais trouver 
mon fils, qui vient d/y aller. 3. N'allez pas le chercher; 
il va revenir. 4. Lisez les lettres qu/il nous a eerites. 

5. Je les ai lues hier, et je viens de lui ecrire aussi. 

6. Nous lui ecrirons demain, et nous lui enverrons le 
roman que nous venons de lire. 7. Avez-vous lu le 
journal? on dit que le roi va venir en Angleterre. 8. II 
vient d'etre chasse de France, mais il ne viendra 
pas ici. 9. Oes messieurs me disaient qu/ils allaient 
venir hier, mais ils ne sont pas venus. 10. Allez les 
chercher, et quand vous les aurez trouves, venez me le 
dire. 11. II s'en est alle ce matin, mais il reviendra 
demain. 12. Donnez-moi le roman que vous lisiez au- 
jourd'hui, et je le lirai demain. 13. Quoiqu/il vienne 
chercher le journal, on ne le lui donnera pas. 14. II 
est venu nous dire qu'il n'a rien envoye a votre fils. 
15. Quoiqu'ils n'y aillent pas aujourd'hui, ils iront 



116 VERBS. [228 

demain. 16. Que dites-vous, monsieur ? Je ne vous 
dirai pas ce que j'allais lui dire. 

n. 

1. Why do you write to him ? 2. I was writing to 
him because he had written to me. 3. We will write 
you a letter when we go to Paris. 4. She will send 
you the newspapers which they have just sent her. 
5. We have read the newspapers that you sent us, and 
we are going to send them back to you. 6. Come and 
tell me what you were reading. 7. We are reading 
the novel you wrote. 8. When you have read it I 
will come and fetch it. 9. Although he come here, 
we will tell him nothing. 10. He is going to come, 
because he has been told that you are here. 11. I 
went away because he was coming. 12. We will read 
you what lie wrote to us. 13. They will not read what 
he has said, but they will send it back to him to-mor- 
row. 14. They went to Paris when their friends 
came here. 15. They have returned, and they will 
not go away again. 

Exeecise 14. 

vocabulary. 
devoir (22), owe, ought pouvoir (49), be able, can 

vouloir (66), wish, will falloir (29), be necessary, must 

faire (28), do, make deja, adv. already 

le papier, paper le crayon, the pencil 



1. Que faites-vous la, mes enfants. 2. Nous ne 
faisons rien. 3. Vous ne devriez pas etre ici, vous 



228] EXERCISES ON IRREGULAR VERBS. 117 

auriez du etre deja a l'ecole. 4. Je ne veux pas aller 
a Tecole. 5. II faut y aller, mon enfant; va-t-en. 
6. Avez-vous les livres qu'il vous faut ? 7. II me faut 
aussi des crayons et du papier. 8. Si vous voulez des 
crayons, il faut que vous en achetiez. 9. Nous en 
voulons, mais nous ne pouvons en acheter, parce que 
nous n'avons pas d'argent. 10. Veuillez bien me 
donner Fargent que vous me devez. 11. J'ai voulu 
vous le donner hier, mais je ne l'ai pas pu. 12. II 
doit venir demain, mais nous ne pourrons pas etre 
ici. 13. II faut que vous fassiez ce que je vous ai dit. 
14. II nous a fallu des robes, et nous en avons fait 
venir de Paris. 15. II fallait que les robes fussent 
faites, parce que nous voulions aller au bal. 16. Us 
ne font pas ce que ils doivent f aire. 17. lis ne Font pas 
fait, parce qu'il faisait tres chaud hier. 18. Quand ils 
Tauront fait, je vous le feral savoir a vous et a vos amis. 

m 
II. 

1. Will you come with us ? 2. I cannot come, be- 
cause it is very cold. 3. You ought to come, and you 
can come if you will (it le). 4. They could not go to 
school, because they had not the paper that they 
needed. 5. They must buy paper and pencils. 
6. They would like to buy them, and they ought to 
buy them. 7. I will have pencils and books bought. 
8. You ought not to have given them the books; they 
could have worked, if they needed money. 9. They 
will not be able to work, because they are ill. 10. Al- 
though she wanted to come, she could not. 11. Do 
what you wish ; but I will not do it. 12. The 
ladies needed new dresses, but they could not find 



118 VERBS. [228 

any. 13. My new dress is to come from Paris to- 
morrow; I have had it made there. 14. Although she 
wants to go to the ball, she cannot. 15. She was to 
have gone there, but she had to go away. 16. If the 
teacher cannot come, I will have it told to the chil- 
dren. 

Exekcise 15. 

vocabulary. 
savoir (55), know voir (65), see 

recevoir (52), receive croire (18), believe 

connaitre (43), be acquainted with paraitre (43), appear 
xnettre (36), put, put on combien, how much or many 

sur, on quelque chose, something 

I. 

1. Connaissez-vous cet homme ? 2. Je le vois, mais 
je ne le connais pas. 3. Je croyais le connaitre, mais 
il me dit qu'il ne me connait pas. 4. Vous le verrez 
demain, parce qu'il va venir nous voir. 5. Avez-vous 
regu des lettres ce matin? 6. J'en ai regu, mais je 
ne savais pas que vous les aviez ecrites. 7. Quand 
vous les aurez lues, mettez-les sur la table. 8. Je les y 
ai mises, mais je ne les y vois plus. 9. Quand je regois 
des lettres, je les mets toujours sur cette table. 10. Je 
ne saurais vous dire combien je vous aime. 11. Elles 
croient parler tres bien, quoiqu'elles ne sachent rien. 
12. Nous n'avons jamais su ce qu'il y avait dans ce 
journal. 13. Quand je recevais sa lettre, je ne savais 
pas quelle etait ici. 14. Je la voyais, mais elle ne m'a 
pas vu. 15. Vous paraissez malade, madame; est-ce 
qu'il vous faut quelque chose ? 16. Quoiqu'elle mette 
sa plus belle robe, elle ne parait pas jolie. 



231] ADVERBS. 119 

II. 

1. Do you see the gentleman ? 2. I have not seen 
him, but I believe he is here. 3. "We shall see him 
to-morrow. 4. Have you received the novel which 
has just appeared? 5. I have received it and read it; 
it appears to be very good. 6. Did you not see the 
books in the chair where I had put them ? 7. If you 
put the books on the chair, I shall not see them. 

8. They put the letters they had received on the table. 

9. I did not know that you were to receive any let- 
ters. 10. We cannot tell you how many letters we 
have received ; but we know that we shall receive 
more (encore) of them. 11. Do not believe all that 
is said. 12. They believed they told you all, but they 
do not know all that we know. 13. They know 
something that you will never know. 14. Why did 
she put on her prettiest dress ? 15. She put on her 
prettiest dress because she saw us. 



ADYEKBS. 



229. 1. Of adverbs and adverb-phrases there are in 
French, of course, a great many which it belongs to the 
dictionary to give. 

a. The conjunctive adverbs y and en were explained at 
143-44; the relative adverbs dont and ou, at 172-73. For 
the use of adverbs of quantity with nouns, see 92. 

230. Many adverbs make phrases with prepositions : 
thus, d'ici hence (literally, from here), par ou by what 
road f jusqu'oii how far f etc. 

231. a. The interrogative adverbs — oft where, quand 
when, combien how much, comment how — are, like the in- 
terrogative pronouns, also used as relative, in which case 
their value is rather that of conjunctions. 



120 ADVERBS. [232 

232. The responsive adverbs are oui yes and non no. 

a. Instead of oui, si is sometimes used (especially collo- 
quially), in reply to a negative question : thus, vous n'y 
avez pas ete ? si you have not been there f yes, I have. 

233. Voici and voila are also abbreviated sentences 
(from vois ici and vois la), and they retain some of the 
constructions belonging to the verb which really forms a 
part of them. 

a. Thus, they often take a pronoun-object, which (con- 
trary to the rule for an imperative affirmative : 136.) is placed 
before them : thus, les voila there they are, m'y voici here 
I am, vous voulez de l'argent ? en voila you want money? 
there is some ; more rarely, they are preceded by the rela- 
tive object que : thus, ce monsieur que voici this gentle- 
man here (literally, whom behold here). 

234. Adverbs have considerable freedom of 
position in the sentence. General rules are : 

a. An adverb is almost never allowed before the verb in 
French : thus, she always cries elle pleure toujours, I 
often take a walk je me promene souvent. 

6. With a verb in a compound tense, the adverbs of most 
frequent use ordinarily come between the auxiliary and the 
participle : thus, elle a toujours pleure she has always 
cried, je m'etais souvent promene / had often taken a 
walk. But such may for special reasons come after the 
participle, as do adverbial phrases ; and the words for to- 
day, yesterday, to-morrow, etc., always follow the parti- 
ciple. 

ADVERBS FROM ADJECTIVES. 

235. Most adjectives, in French as in English, 
have adverbs made from them by adding an ad- 
verbial suffix. 

The adverb-making suffix in French is ment, 
and it is in general added to the feminine form of 
the adjective — yet with not a few exceptions. 

236. Most adjectives ending in a consonant in 



238] ADVERBS FROM ADJECTIVES. 121 

the masculine add ment to their feminine form : 
thus, 'haiit high, 'hautement highly; grand great, 
grandement greatly. 

Exceptions to this rule are the following : 

a. Adjectives ending in ant and ent for the 
most part change their nt into m, and add ment 
directly to it : thus, constant constant, constamment 
constantly; prudent prudent, prudemment prudently. 

But lentement slowly, prdsentement presently, v€h€- 
mentement vehemently, by the general rule. 

b. A few adjectives change e of the feminine to 6 before 
ment : thus, communement, confinement, diffusement, ex- 
pressement, importunement, obscurement, profondement, 
precisement. 

c. Gentil forms gentiment nicely. 

237. Most adjectives ending in a vowel add 
ment to their masculine form : thus, facile easy, 
facilement easily; joli pretty, joliment prettily ; absolu 
absolute, absolument absolutely. 

Exceptions to this rule are as follows : 

a. Beau, nouveau, fou, and mou add ment to their 
feminine form (107): thus, nouvellement, follement, 
etc. 

b. A few adjectives change their final e to e before ment : 
thus, aveuglement, commodement, conformement, enor- 
mement, immensement (and one or two others, little used). 

c. A few adjectives change final u to ii before ment : 
thus, assidument, contintiment, criiment, miment ; and gai 
gay makes either gaiement or gaiment. 

d. Impuni forms impunement with impunity. 

238. Adverbs derived from adjectives (and a 
few others, as souvent often) have a comparative 
and superlative, made by prefixing plus and le plus 



122 ADVERBS. [238 

respectively (as in the comparison of adjectives : 
115): thus, 

facilement, plus facilement, le plus facilement, easily, more easily, 

most easily 
souvent, plus souvent, le plus souvent, often, oftener, oftenest 

239. Four original adverbs have special com- 
parative forms, which are made superlative by 
prefixing le : thus, 

beaucoup, plus, le plus, much, more, most 
bien, mieux, le mieux, well, better, best 
mal, pis, le pis, badly or ill, worse, worst 
peu, moins, le moins, little , less, least 

240. Many adjectives are, either commonly 
or in certain phrases, used directly as adverbs, 
without any change of form. Some of the com- 
monest of them are : bas in a loio tone, 'haut loud, 
aloud, clair clearly, droit straight, exprfcs expressly, 
fort very, juste correctly, tout quite, soudain sud- 
denly, vite quickly, fast 

a. Most of these form also adverbs in ment for certain 
uses. 

ADVEEBS OF NEGATION. 

241. A verb is made negative by putting the 
adverb ne before and pas (or point) after it — in a 
compound tense, before and after the auxiliary. 

a. Pas and point are really nouns, meaning step and 
point, used adverbially to strengthen the negation, like 

- English not a bit and the like. 

b. The ne comes after the subject, but precedes a pronoun- 
object (136). It is abbreviated always to n' before a vowel 
or h mute (22c). 



243] ADVERBS OF NEGATION. 123 

242. Examples of tenses inflected negatively 
are : 

je ne suis pas, I am not je n'avais pas eu, I had not 

had 
tu n'cs pas, thou art not tu n'avais pas eu, thou hadst 

not had 
il n'est pas, he is not il n'avait pas eu, he had not 

had 
nous ne sommes pas, we are not nous n'avions pas eu, we had 

not had 
vous a'etes pas, you are not vous n'aviez pas eu, you had 

not had 
ils ne sont pas, they are not ils n'avaient pas eu, they had 

not had 

a. Point makes a stronger or more emphatic negative : 
thus, il ne Test point lie is not so at all. 

b. N'est-ce pas is a much-used phrase, meaning is it not 
so f or corresponding to English repeated questions like is 
he not? do they not? and the like: thus, il est ^encore 
malade, n'est-ce pas he is still ill, is he not ? vous avez 
mon livre, n'est-ce pas you have my book, have you not f 

243. In certain cases ne stands alone without 
added pas or point, to negative tlie verb. This is 
the case : 

a. Generally with the verbs savoir, pouvoir, oser, and 
cesser, especially when followed by an infinitive. Thus, il 
ne peut tarder he cannot delay, elle n'oserait revenir 
she would not dare to return. 

b. After si, after rhetorical questions introduced by que 
or qui, after il y a, and in a negative clause depending on one 
that is negative or impliedly so : thus, si ce n'est vous if it 
is not you, qui de nous n'a ses defauts who of us has not 
his faults ? il y a trois mois que je ne 1'ai vu / have not 
seen him these three months, vous n'avez pas un ami qui 
ne soit aussi le mien you have not a friend who is not 
also mine. 



124 ADVERBS. [243 

c. In certain phrases : as, nlmporte no matter, n'avoir 
garde de take care not to. 

244. Ne is also used without second negative 
particle along with certain words which are re- 
garded as forming with it a compound negative 
phrase, often to be rendered in English by a sin- 
gle negative word. 

a. These negative phrases are especially ne . . . rien 
nothing, ne . . . jamais never, ne . . . personne nobody, 
ne . . . aucun not any, none, no, ne . . . plus no longer, no 
more (in sense of continuance of time), ne . . . que only 
(lit'ly, not [else or other] than), ne . . . guere, hardly, 
scarcely. 

Thus, je ne suis jamais malade lam never ill, il n'a vu 
personne he has seen no one, n'avez-vous rien have you 
nothing f je n'ai eu que trois francs / have only had three 
francs, personne ne l'a vu no one has seen him, nous ne 
l'avons plus we no longer have it. 

b. Of ne . . . que, meaning only, the que stands where than 
would stand if the expression were filled out : thus, je ne 
verrai qu'elle I shall see only her, je ne la verrai que de- 
main I shall see her only to-morrow, je ne la verrai demain 
qu'apres le diner I shall see her only after the dinner to- 
morrow. If the only qualifies the verb itself, a paraphrase 
is made with faire do : thus, elle ne fait que pleurer she 
merely cries, or elle ne fait autre chose que pleurer she 
does nothing else than cry. Autre other is not seldom used 
with ne alone : thus, le droit n'est autre chose que la rai- 
son m§me right is nothing but reason itself. 

c. Not seldom, more than one second negative belongs 
with the same ne : thus, je ne lui ai jamais rien donne / 
have never given him anything, je n'en dirai jamais rien 
a personne I will never say anything to any one about 
it. 

d. Nul none, not any (also its adverb nullement in no 
wise), and ni . . . ni neither . . . nor, though themselves 
negative, require also ne before the verb : thus, ni vous ni 
moi ne le pouvons neither you nor I can do it, nul ne le 
saura none will know it. The same is the case with non 



247] ADVERBS OF NEGATION. 125 

plus not any more : thus, elle ne l'aime non plus que moi 

she doesn't like it any more than L 

e. For the use of the partitive noun after negative ex- 
pressions, see 976. 

245. The negative ne belongs strictly to the 
verb, and can never be used except with a verb 
expressed. If the verb, then, is omitted (for ex- 
ample, in answers), the ne is also omitted, and the 
other word has by itself a negative sense : thus, 
avez-vous des livres have you hooks ? pas un not one ; 
qu'avez-vous what have you ? rien nothing ; qui est ici 
toho is here ? personne nobody. 

246. The negative word non is especially used 
as direct answer to a question, meaning no. 

In this, as in most of its other uses, it may be followed 
by the second negative pas (rarely by point) : thus, voulez- 
vous le faire ? non (or non pas) will you do it f no. 

a. It also stands, in incomplete expression, for an omitted 
negative verb or clause : thus, je gage que non i" wager 
that it is not so, non que je le croie not (i.e. it is not the 
case) that I believe it. 

b. It is used to negative a particular member of a sentence 
which is not a verb : thus, il demeure a la campagne, non 
loin d'ici he lives in the country, not far from here, il perit, 
non sans gloire he perished, not without glory. 

c. Non plus not any more, stands after a negative verb 
or after ni nor, and is often best rendered by either : thus, 
je ne le ferai pas non plus I shall not do it either (literally, 
any more than he or than you, or the like) ; ni moi non 
plus nor I either. 

247. In dependent clauses a ne is often found used 
with a verb where no negation is really implied. 

a. In clauses with the subjunctive depending on a word 
signifying fearing, hindering, doubting, or denying (see 
270) : thus, evitez qu'il ne vous parle avoid his speaking 



126 PREPOSITIONS. [247 

to you, de peur qu'il ne vienne for fear he is coming, on ne 
doute pas qu'il n'aille it is not doubted that he is going, 

b. Often after il y a . . . que, depuis que, avant que, sans 
que ; and always after a moins que and de crainte or de 
peur que : thus, depuis que je ne vous ai vu since I have 
seen you, avant qu'il n'entre before he comes in, a moins 
qu'il ne vienne unless he come. 

c. A ne is inserted before a verb following and depending 
on a comparative : thus, c'est plus vrai que vous ne le 
croyez it is truer than you think for. r 



PKEPOSITIONS. 

248. The use of prepositions in French corre- 
sponds so closely to the English usage that only 
a few special points call for notice here. 

a. The two prepositions de of from, and a to, at are 
those of which the uses are most various, depart most 
widely from the simple original meaning of the words, and 
are most analogous with inflectional endings, of genitive 
and dative respectively ; they have been, therefore, most 
fully treated above. 

b. Thus, the uses of de as connecting one noun with an- 
other in the manner of a genitive are stated in 87 ; as mak- 
ing a partitive noun, 95-100; as connecting a noun with an 
adjective, 114 ; as denoting material and measure, 90, 91; af- 
ter a verb, 262 ; as preceding an infinitive, 278 ; and so on. 

c. In like manner the use of a before a noun in the sense 
of an indirect object or dative, 88 ; between an adjective and 
noun, 114d ; before an infinitive, 279-80 ; between a verb 
and a noun, 262 ; and so on. A is also used in such phrases 
as c'est bien a vous that is good of you or in you ; and in 
many elliptical phrases : as, a moi or au secours help! (i.e., 
come to me, come for help) . 

249. With the names of cities and towns a is used to ex- 
press both to and in (literally, into). With the name of 



254] PREPOSITIONS. 127 

a country en is used for in or to (without the article), but 
before a plural name and in one or two other cases a is used. 
Thus : il est a Paris he is at Paris, je vais en France / am 
going to France, elles sont aux Etats-Unis they are in 
the United States. 

250. Dans and en in, into. Dans is more definite and 
en more general and vague. En is almost never used before 
the definite article or possessive. 

a. Dans is used instead of en before the name of a coun- 
try when accompanied by an adjective : dans toute l'Angle- 
terre in all England. 

b. In expressions of time en is used to mean in the year, 
the season, the month, etc. : thus, en mil huit cent trente, 
en ete in 1830, in summer ; but dans la m§me annee in the 

same year. 

c. En is used elliptically to signify in the character of, 
like, as; thus agir en honn§te homme act like an honest 
man. 

251. Sans without. This preposition is peculiar in being 
treated in some respects as a negative word (since it so dis- 
tinctly implies a negation of accompaniment): thus, sans 
rien dire without saying anything, sans or ni argent 
without gold or silver, sans nul doute without any doubt. 
After it, the partitive sense of a noun is regularly left un- 
expressed : thus, avec de Tor mais sans argent with gold 
but without silver. 

252. Many prepositions are also used along with a preced- 
ing preposition or adverb, forming a prepositional phrase : 
thus, jusqu'a la ville as far as the town, quant a moi as 
for me, d'apres ce qu'il nous dit according to what he tells 
us. 

253. Many prepositional phrases are also made up of ad- 
verbs and adverbial phrases followed by de of; thus, 
autour de ma chambre around my room, le long du 
fleuve along the river, au-dela du tombeau beyond the 
tomb. 

254. For prepositions with the infinitive see 277-82. 



128 ADVERBS AND PREPOSITIONS. [254 



Exercise 16. 
adverbs and prepositions. 

VOCABULARY. 

bientot, soon presque, almost 

autant que, as much as tout de suite, at once 

pas du tout, not at all constant, adj. constant 

possible, adj. possible pendant, during 

avant, before chez, at the house or home of 

jusqu'a, as far as prochain, adj. near, next 

le diner, the dinner le dejeuner, the breakfast 
[Also the words and expressions explained in the text.] 

I. 

1. Combien de livres avez-vous ? 2. Je n'ai que 
ces livres que voici ; mais j'en aurai bientot (Tautres. 
3. Quant a moi, fen ai presque autant que vous ; 
venez chez moi, je vous les ferai voir. 4. Je m'en 
vais chez mon frere, je veux y aller avant le diner. 5. 
lis sont venus chez nous pendant le dejeuner, mais ils 
s'en sont alles tout de suite. 6. Ce gargon ne fait 
que lire; on ne le voit guere sans livre. 7. II lit bien, 
mais il n'ecrit que tres mal. 8. Parlons bas, on peut 
nous entendre. 9. Je ne vois personne, et je n'ai ja- 
mais rien dit de meehant. 10. Voulez-vous venir 
jusqu'a la ville ou non ? 11. Je vous ai deja dit que 
non; il y a cinq mois que je n'y ai ete, et je ne veux 
nullement y aller main tenant. 12. Moi, je ne Paime 
pas non plus, mais il faut que j'y aille constamment. 
13. Nous avons ete en Angleterre en 1888, et nous y 
irons encore Pannee prochaine. 14. Elle ne nous 



255] CONJUNCTIONS. 129 

6crit pas souvent, mais elle nous ecritle plus possible. 

15. Elle veut toujours paraitre mieux quelle n'est. 

16. Voila deux lettres qu'elle yient d'ecrire; malheu- 
reusement je ne peux guere les lire. 

ii. 

1. Do you see this girl often ? 2. I have not seen 
her for three months, but I shall see her of tener next 
year. 3. Speak louder, I do not hear you at all. 4. 
There are two men ; do you know them ? 5. He does 
not know them at all, nor I either. 6. We do not like 
this man at all, he talks only of his house and his 
money. 7. He wishes to appear less poor than he is, 
but he is now without friends or money. 8. He has 
never told anyone how much money he has. 9. Doesn't 
he come to your house constantly? 10. I tell you 
no; I hardly see him at my house. 11. Here is some 
money; fortunately I am much richer than you. 12. 
Why do you not write to him oftener ? 13. Unfor- 
tunately he does not read Avell, and he writes worse 
than he reads. 14. He is coming here in April, and 
he will be here during the next month. 15. Go 
quickly ; as for him, he will not be there before din- 
ner. 



CONJUNCTIONS. 

255. The commonest conjunctions are et and, 
mais but, ou or, ni nor, aussi also, car for, done then, 
or now, ainsi thus, comme as, puisque since, as, si if, 
lorsque or quand when. 



130 SUBJECT AND OBJECT. [256 

256. Correlative conjunctions, used in succes- 
sive clauses, are : 

et . . . et, both . . . and ou . . . ou, either . . . or 

ni . . . ni, neither . . . nor soit . . . soit, whether . . . or 

plus . . . plus, the more . . . moins . . . moins, the less . . . 

the more the less 

autant . . . autant, as tantot . . . tantot, now . . . 

much . . . as now 

257. Many phrases having the value of conjunctions are 
made by adding the conjunction que to a preposition or ad- 
verb or adverbial phrase : thus, aussitot que je la verrai 
as soon as I shall see her, ainsi que je vous ai dit as I told 
you. 

a. When the conjunctions and conjunction-phrases con- 
taining que — as lorsque when, quoique although, pendant 
que while, parce que because — are to be repeated, they are 
generally repeated by que alone ; and que is likewise used 
in repetition instead of quand, comme, and si : thus, lors- 
que Tempereur fut revenu et qu'il eut visite le camp 
when the emperor had returned and ivhen he had visited 
the camp, s'il n'a que peu d'argent et qu'il veuille en 
avoir plus if he has only a little money and wants more. 

b. Especially in familiar language, que is sometimes used 
instead of lorsque when, avant que before, depuis que 
since, jusqu'a ce que until, and que . . . ne instead of sans 
quezinless: thus, a peine etait-il sorti que la maison 
s'ecroula he had hardly gone out, when the house fell in, 
je n'y irai point que tout ne soit pret I shall not go there 
unless (or till or before) everything is ready. 

For the conjunctions with a following subjunctive see 
272. 



SUBJECT AND OBJECT. 

258. If a verb has more than one subject of 
different persons, the agreement of the verb in 
person is as it would be if the different subjects 



261] SUBJECT AND OBJECT. 131 

were summed up in one personal pronoun : thus, 
mon ami etmoi sommes tombes d'accord my friend 
and I have agreed, vous et vos amis etes tombSs d' ac- 
cord you and your friends , have agreed. 

a. More often, such compound subjects are repeated by 
means of a pronoun that includes them : thus, vous et 
moi, nous sommes contents you and I are satisfied, vous 
et lui, vous savez l'affaire you and he understand the 
matter. 

259. It is quite common in French that the 
true or logical subject of the verb is repeated by 
a pronoun as grammatical subject (see 156). 

a. The logical subject is sometimes preceded by que, as 
a sort of correlative to the grammatical subject ce : thus, 
c'est une charmante chose qu'une femme it is a charming 
thing, a woman (is). And in elliptical expression the que 
remains, even when ce and the verb are omitted : thus, un 
singulier homme que ce roi a singular man, this king I 

o. A preceding subject is also often repeated by the 
grammatical subject ce : thus, le temps, c'est de l'argent 
time is money, commander a ses passions, c'est remporter 
la plus belle des victoires to control one's passions is to 
gain the best of victories. The effect of this repetition is to 
emphasize the subject. 

c. Repetition of the subject by a pronoun is usual in in- 
verted clauses after a peine, encore, peut-§tre, vainement, 
and the like : thus, a peine mon ami fut-il sorti hardly 
had my friend gone out, peut-§tre la fortune reviendra-t- 
elle perhaps fortune will return. 

260. Much more generally than in English, the 
pronoun subject is repeated before each verb. 
Thus, je l'aime et je l'admire Hove and admire him. 

261. A verb in French does not take two di- 
rect objects, but only a direct and an indirect 
together. 



I 

132 FORMS OF CONJUGATION. [261 

a. Following this rule, the verbs laisser allow, voir see, 
entendre hear, ouir hear, and faire make, cause (see 228, 
6), when followed by a dependent infinitive having a direct 
object, have their own logical object made indirect: thus, 
je l'ai entendu dire a votre ami / heard your friend say 
it, je le lui ai vu essayer / saw him try it, j'ai fait lire 
votre lettre a monami I made my friend read your let- 
ter. 

262. Many verbs which are transitive in English require 
in French a de or an a before their object: thus, il change 
d'opinion he changes his opinion, il abuse de votre bont6 
he abuses your kindness, il s'approcha du feu he approached 
the fire, il faut obeir aux lois one must obey the laws, il 
plait a tout le monde he pleases every one. 



SPECIAL USES OF THE FOBMS OF CON- 
JUGATION. 

INDICATIVE MODE. 

263. a. The present is often used instead of the 
past in lively narration : thus, la nuit approche, 
l'instant arrive ; C6sar se prSsente night draws near, 
the moment comes ; Ccesar presents himself. 

6. The present is regularly used for past ac- 
tion continued into the present, or for what has 
been and still is : thus, il est ici depuis une semaine 
he has been here for a week. 

264. As between the two simple past tenses, 
imperfect and preterit, the preterit expresses 
simply past action, without further implication ; 
the imperfect expresses past action viewed as 



265] INDICATIVE MODE. 133 

continuous, as a lasting condition or quality, as 
habitual, repeated, or the like. 

a. This distinction is in part quite clear and easy to make, 
as in cases where our language says or might say I was giv- 
ing, or / kept giving, or I gave repeatedly, or I used to give, 
or the like, the imperfect being then required; but it is 
often very difficult. It depends in great part on the rela- 
tion of the action to some other : especially when one action 
is represented as still going on at the time another occurs, 
the former is imperfect, and the latter preterit : thus, in 
English, he was (impf. etait) there as I entered (pret. 
entrai), quand j'osai regarder, j'etais seul when I ven- 
tured to look, I was alone, il etait nuit noire quand nous 
arrivames it was black night when we arrived. 

b. The imperfect is regularly used for what had been and 
still was : thus, il y etait depuis longtemps he had been 
there for a long time. 

265. The perfect answers in the main to the 
English perfect, being the expression for past 
action with some reference to the present in- 
volved. 

But there are also considerable differences between the 
two, especially as the French often uses the perfect where 
we set the simple preterit : thus, 

a. To express general facts of the past, not in connection 
with their surroundings : thus, Alexandre a detruit l'em- 
pire des Perses the Persian empire was destroyed by Alex- 
ander, Dieu a cree le monde God created the world. 

b. Especially, the perfect is very often used to 
express recent events, connected with the present 
as having taken place within a division of time 
now current. 

Thus, je me suis leve a six heures ce matin I got up at 
6 o'clock this morning ; lui avez-vous parle* did you speak 
to him. 



134 FORMS OF CONJUGATION. [266 

266. The future corresponds to the English 
future. 

a. The French, however, often uses the future in com- 
pound sentences where it is logically more correct, but 
where the English has the present instead: thus, vous direz 
ce qu'il vous plaira you will say what you [shall] please, 
tant qu'il vivra as long as lie lives (or shall live). 

b. The future is used after si only in the sense of whether : 
thus, je ne sais s'il viendra / know not whether he will 
come. 

267. The conditional agrees in general in use 
with the English conditional, or verb-phrase 
made with the auxiliaries would and should. 



Exercise 17. 

CONJUNCTIONS ; SUBJECT AND OBJECT ; INDICATIVE 
TENSES. 

VOCABULARY. 

abuser (de), abuse changer (de), change 

obeir (a), obey emprunter, borrow (from, a) 

depuis, since, for s'approcher (de), come near, ap- 

se moquer (de), ridicule proach 

la bonte, kindness le feu, the fire 

seul, seule, alone la chose, the thing 

I. 

1. II a 3mprunte de l'argent a son pere, et lui et moi 
nous nous en allons tout de suite. 2. Je ne peux aller 
avec vous ; il f aut que je change de robe. 3. Approchez- 
vous du feu, monsieur ; vous et votre fils, vous devez 
avoir froid. 4. Merci, madame, nous ne voulons pas 



267] CONJUNCTIONS-SUBJECT AND OBJECT. 135 

A 

abuser de votre bonte. 5. Pendant que je lui parlais, 
il s'approcha de la table et y mit ce livre. 6. Lors- 
que je le trouvai, il y etait depuis deux heures. 
7. Nous sommes a Paris depuis deux jours, mais 
nous n'avons encore vu que tres peu de choses. 8. 
Elle s'est levee ce matin a six heures, ainsi que vous 
le lui ayez ordonne. 9. Plus il perd d'argent, plus 
il en emprunte a to us ses amis. 10. Je ne sais s'il 
s'en ira, mais je ne m'en irai pas pendant qu'il sera ici. 
11. C'est un joli enfant que ce petit gar^on. 12. 
Je ne Pai pas vu, parce qu'il est venu ce matin, et que 
je n'etais pas chez moi. 13. A peine ces messieurs 
furent-ils venus, quails voulaient s'en aller. 14. Ou 
ils ne vous ont pas entendu, ou ils ne vous out pas 
obei. 15. II est vrai quails se sont moques de nous, 
mais nous ne leur en voulons point. 16. J'etais 
toute seule lorsqu'il s'approcha de moi et qu'il me 
donna la lettre, 

II. 

1. It is a good book, this history. 2. I borrowed 
it of my friend, but I have not yet read it. 3. I do 
not know whether I shall read it, but when I have 
read it I will give it to you. 4. My sister and I will 
read it. 5. While we were at my uncle's, we went to 
bed at six o'clock. 6. While you were talking to him, 
he went away. 7. He has been at school since nine 
o'clock. 8. They were punished because they did not 
obey their teacher. 9. We had been at Paris for two 
years when we changed (our) house. 10. He is either 
sick or cold; why does he not come near the fire? 
11. When she has come and has changed her dress, I 



136 FORMS OF CONJUGATION. [267 

will tell you of it. 12. Did you hear the boy say that 
he had done it ? 13. I was alone when he came near 
the house, and I saw that he wanted to speak to me. 
14. While he was speaking of you, I saw you. 15. 
The more we see him, the more we love him. 

SUBJUNCTIVE MODE. 

268. The subjunctive is tlie mode of contin- 
gency, anticipation, expectation, requirement. It 
belongs for the most part to dependent clauses, 
and is usually introduced by the conjunction que 
that. 

a. The subjunctive is sometimes used without que in an 
optative or imperative sense : thus, puissiez-vous reussir 
may you succeed, ainsi soit-il so be it. 

b. Also sometimes in a concessive or conditional sense : 
thus, vienne qui voudra, je resterai come who will, I shall 
stay. 

269. The subjunctive occurs in a clause used 
as logical subject of an impersonal whenever an- 
ticipation, requirement, or the like is implied : 
thus, il suffit qu'elle l'ait avou6 it is enough that she 
has confessed it, c'est dommage que je l'aie perdu it is 
a pity that I have lost it, il est possible que nous ne 
revenions pas it is possible that we do not come back. 

a. But the indicative is used if the clause is a distinct 
statement of fact : thus, il est vrai qu'elle n'est pas 
arrivee it is true that she has not come. 

270. The subjunctive stands in a clause which 
is used as the object of certain verbs : namely, 



272] SUBJUNCTIVE MODE. 137 

a. verbs of wishing, permitting, forbidding, ex- 
pecting, etc.; b. verbs signifying regarding with 
a feeling, such as joy, doubt, apprehension, etc.; 
c. verbs of thinking, supposing, and stating (but 
usually only if the sentence is negative, inter- 
rogative, or conditional). Thus, il veut que nous 
disions la verity he icants us to tell the truth, je de- 
fends qu'on sorte I forbid any one to go out, je m'6- 
tonne qu'il ne nous voie pas / am surprised that he 
does not see us, je crains qu'il ne vienne I fear lest he 
come, je ne crois pas qu'il soit arriv6 I don't believe 
he has come, s'il affirme qu'il soit ainsi if he affirms 
that it is so. 

271. A subjunctive is used in an adjective clause 
— i.e., such as is introduced by a relative pronoun 
and qualifies a noun — a. when the noun qualified 
stands in a construction implying anticipation, 
as expectation, purpose, etc.; b. after a superla- 
tive or numeral word akin to a superlative ; c. 
often after a negative, interrogative, or conditional 
clause : thus, je cherche une retraite ou je sois tran- 
quille i" seek a retreat where I may be quiet, envoyez- 
moi quelqu'un qui me rende ce service send me some 
one who icill do me this service, c'est le meilleur hom- 
me que je connaisse he is the best man I know, il 
n'y a personne qui ne soit venu there is no one who 
has not come, s'il a un couteau qui soit bon if he has 
a knife that is good. 

272. The subjunctive is used in adverbial 
clauses — that is, such as limit or qualify the ac- 



138 FORMS OF CONJUGATION. [272 

tion of a verb — in many cases, where a looking 
forward, anticipation, contingency is implied. 

a. These clauses are generally introduced either by que 
after a relative word to be rendered by whatever, whoever, 
whenever, etc. (see 177), or by a conjunction or conjunctive 
phrase. Of these phrases requiring to be followed by sub- 
junctive the commonest are afin que in order that, avant 
que before, bien que and quoique although, sans que with- 
out, pour que in order that, jusqu'a ce que until, pourvu 
que provided that, au cas que in case that : thus, quoi 
qull me dise, je ne le crois pas whatever he may say, 
I do not believe him, je ne veux voir qui que ce soit / will 
not see any one, whoever he may be, quelque bon qu'il soit, je 
ne l'aime pas however good he may be, I do not love him ; 
sortons avant qu'il soit trop tard let us go out before 
it is too late, je resterai jusqu'a ce qu'il vienne 1 will stay 
until he comes, faites-le, afin que je puisse vous voir do 
it, in order that I may see you. 

b. After sans que, the verb can hardly be rendered ex- 
cept by our infinitive in ing : thus, sans que personne s'en 
aperc, oive without any one's perceiving it. 

273. The subjunctive is used in certain special cases : a. 
si ^/'may be followed by the subj. impf., otherwise only by 
cases of the indicative ; 6. a que followed by ne in the 
sense of without, unless, until, takes the subjunctive : thus, 
il n'a jamais rien fait qu'il ne me l'ait dit he has never 
done anything without telling me. 

274. The tense of the subjunctive in a dependent clause 
is in general governed by that of the principal clause, be- 
ing past (imp. or pi up.) if the latter is past or conditional, 
and present (or pert'.} if it is present or future. 



IMPERATIVE. 

275. The imperative has in general the same 
uses in French as in English. 

a. In the absence of a first person singular, the first 
plural is sometimes used with that value : thus, soyons 
homme, m'ecriai-je let me play the man, cried I to myself. 



275] SUBJUNCTIVE AND IMPERATIVE. 139 

b. Some imperatives are used interjectionally ; the com- 
monest are allons come, come on, tiens or tenez hold ! stop 
a moment, see here, take notice, and the like, voyons let's 
see, see here, va go ! i.e., pshaw, nonsense, and the like. 



Exercise 18. 
subjunctive and imperative. 

VOCABULARY. 

craindre (17), fear defendre, forbid 

attendre, await, expect s'etonner, be astonished 

impossible, impossible tenir (62), hold 

[Also the conjunctions given in the text.] 

I. 

1. J'attendrai jusqu'a ce qu'il vienne. 2. II veut 
que nous soyons ici, afin qu'il puisse nous voir. 3. 
Je ne crois pas qu'il vienne, et je crains qu'il ne soit 
malade. 4. II n'est guere possible qu'il soit malade 
sans que nous ne le sachions. 5. Je m'etonne qu'il 
n'ait pas ecrit a son pere. 6. II est possible qu'il re- 
<joive une lettre de lui ce soir. 7. Attendons que lalet- 
tre soit venue et qu'il Tait hie. 8. C'est la premiere let- 
tre qu'il ait regue de son fils. 9. Je rn'etonne qu'il ait 
pu le f aire, mais il n'y a rien qui lui soit impossible. 10. 
Son pere avait defendu qu'il le fit, et nous craignons 
qu'il ne le punisse. 11. Qu'il me le defende ou non, 
je le ferai. 12. Tiens, je ne vous voyaispas; cherchez- 
vous quelque chose que vous ayez perdu ? 13. Nous 
allons avec vous a I'eglise, a moins que vous ne nous 
le defendiez. 14. II a defendu qu'elle parle a qui 



140 FORMS OF CONJUGATION. [275 

que ce soit. 15. Quel que bonne quelle soit, je crains 
qu'elle ne lui obeisse pas. 

II. 

1. Do you believe he will come ? 2. We are aston- 
ished that he is not here already, but we will wait 
until he comes. 3. Are you not afraid that he is ill ? 
4. He will come unless he is ill. 5. Whatever you 
may say, I do not believe that he is a bad man. 6. 
He is the best friend we have, and we do not wish him 
to go away. 7. However rich this man may be, it 
seems that he is not happy. 8. There is no one who 
is happy. 9. It is possible that we can come, but I 
fear that it will be forbidden us. 10. They gave 
him the book in order that he might read it, but I 
do not believe that he will do it. 11. His father 
has forbidden that he read it. 12. We were afraid 
that you would not come, but we rejoice that you 
have come. 13. They never come without my know- 
ing it. 

THE INFINITIVE. 

276. The use of the infinitive in French cor- 
responds in general with our English usage, and 
demands little explanation here. 

277. The English to as sign of the infinitive is 
represented by both de and k. Most verbs, ad- 
jectives, and nouns require either k or de before 
a following dependent infinitive. 

278. Often, the reason for using de, as meaning properly 
°A from, is to be seen : thus, il est temps de partir it is 



282] THE INFINITIVE. 141 

time to leave (literally, time of leaving), on nous a de- 
fendu de parler we are forbidden to sptak (literally, kept 
off from speaking), il a cesse d'etre he has ceased to be 
(literally, ceased from being), and so on. But in consider- 
able part this is not the case, and the distinction has to be 
learned for each phrase. 

279. A also often has the same value before an infinitive 
as before an ordinary noun, the sense of to, unto, toward, 
being plainly to be seen : thus, tout conspire a me nuire 
everything conspires to injure me {to my injury), je l'invite 
a venir I invite him to come, elle les exhorta a demeurer 
fermes she exhorted them to remain firm ; but often, as in 
English, the reason for the use of a is not clear, the a being 
a mere arbitrary sign of the infinitive. 

a. After certain verbs, especially avoir and 6tre, a is 
used in a kind of future sense (much as in English) express- 
ing something anticipated or obligatory : thus, jai a te 
parler / have to talk to you, il est a plaindre he is to be 
pitied, il me reste beaucoup a faire there is much left for 
me to do ; or, without a verb, in an attributive sense : thus, 
une chose a faire a thing to be done. 

280. Some verbs admit either de or a before a following 
dependent infinitive. Sometimes the choice is a matter of 
indifference, or nearly so : thus, il commence a ecrire or 
d'ecrire he begins to write; — sometimes it depends upon a 
difference of construction or of meaning : thus, j'ai resolu 
de partir or je me suis resolu a partir I have resolved to 
leave, je vous laisse a penser / leave you to imagine, elle 
ne laisse pas de plaire she does not cease to please. 

281. A few other prepositions are followed by 
the infinitive directly ; tliey are : apres after, pour 
in order to, to, sans without, par by. 

a. Of these, par is little used, and apres almost only with 
the perfect infinitive : thus, apres avoir dine after having 
dined. 

282. Many prepositional phrases are also followed by the 
infinitive. It is an English infinitive in ing which in very 
many cases corresponds to the French infinitive after a 
preposition or prepositional phrase : thus, avant de mourir 



142 FOKMS OF CONJUGATION. [282 

before dying, sans lui parler without speaking to him, a 
force de la voir by dint of seeing her. 

283. The infinitive without a preceding sign is 
used : 

a. Sometimes as subject or predicate of a verb : thus, 
parler est mieux to speak is better, s'entretenir avec son 
ami, c'est penser tout haut to talk with a friend is to 
think aloud. 

b. After the quasi-auxiliaries vouloir, pouvoir, etc. ; after 
verbs of perceiving and declaring, of coming and going, of 
hoping, desiring, intending, and the like : thus, j'espere le 
trouver / hope to find him. 

c. After certain verbs of declaring, believing, and the 
like, if their subject is also the subject of the action expressed 
by the infinitive : thus, il assure ne l'avoir jamais vue 
he declares he never saw her, je crois m'etre trompe I believe 
I was mistaken ; also after verbs of perceiving, and some- 
times of declaring, having a direct object which is the 
subject of the infinitive action: thus, je le vois venir I see 
him coming. 

d. In incomplete or exclamatory expression : thus, que 
faire what [is one] to do f donnez-moi de quoi £crire give 
me wherewith to write. 

PAKTTCIPLES. 

284. The present participle in its participial use 
is not varied for gender and number ; but when 
used adjectively it is varied like any other adjec- 
tive to agree with its noun. Thus, deux hommes 
parlant ensemble two men talking together, des paroles 
consolantes consoling words, une mere consolant sa 
fille a mother consoling her child. 

a. Often, where we use a present participle, the French 
has a relative clause : thus, je le vois qui vient / see him 
coming. 

285. a. When used with etre, the past participle, 



285] INFINITIVES AND PARTICIPLES. 143 

except in reflexive verbs, agrees in gender and 
number with the subject of the verb. 

b. When used with avoir, and also with etre in 
reflexive verbs, the participle never agrees with 
the subject ; but it agrees with the direct object 
in case that object precedes the verb. 

c. The participle of an impersonal verb, or one used im- 
personally, does not vary : thus, les pluies qu'il y a eu 
the rains there have been. 

d. The participle does not agree with an adverbial object, 
specification of time, etc. : thus, les annees qu'il a dure the 
years it has lasted. 



EXEKCISE 19. 

INFINITIVES AND PARTICIPLES. 

VOCABULARY. 

promettre (36), promise mourir (38), die 

le temps, time prendre (50), take 

1. Qui vons a dit de venir? 2. On m'a defendu 
de venir, mais il a voulu me voir avant de mourir, 
et j'ai cru devoir le faire. 3. Combien de temps a-t-il 
encore a vivre ? 4. II est mort a six heures sans nous 
connaitre. 5. II me serait impossible de vous dire 
combien je suis malheureux de Tavoir perdu. 5. Nous 
n'avions pas fini de lire ce livre, lorsqu'il nous l'a 
pris pour le donner a son fils. 6. Vous etes bien bon 
de me le donner, mais je ne crois pas devoir le pren- 
dre. 7. II m'a promis de le chercher pour me le 
rendre. 8. Je voudrais l'inviter a diner chez nous, 
mais je n'ai jamais reussi a la trouver chez elle. 9. 



144 FORMS OF CONJUGATION. [285 

Elle ne pent diner chez vous, mais elle a promis de 
venir dejeuner chez nous demain. 10. Je n'ai rien 
a faire, si ce n'est de lire ce livre-ci. 11. II ne faut 
pas parler d'un livre sans l'avoir lu. 12. A force d'en 
entendre parler il croit l'avoir deja lu. 13. Vous ne 
faites que parler, au lieu de manger. 14. Je vous de- 
fends d'emprunter de Targent a qui que ce soit. 15. 
N'ayant rien a lui donner, je ne vais plus le voir. 

II. 

1. Did you invite him to dine with you ? 2. He 
promised to come and dine with me, but it is impossi- 
ble for him to come before he has finished working. 
3. One ought to eat before working. 4. My father 
has forbidden me to eat cakes before dining. 5. By 
dint of working he has succeeded in doing all that he 
wanted to do. 6. It is possible to do all that one 
wants to do. 7. After having promised to give me 
the flowers, he gave them to his sister. 8. Why did 
you look for me if you had nothing to say to me ? 9. 
I looked for you to give you the flowers which I have 
promised you. 10. I have not the time to tell all that 
I have to tell you. 11. Having borrowed money from 
all his friends, he can find no one to (pour) give him 
any. 12. Take this book; if you succeed in reading it 
I will give it to you. 13. We told him to choose a 
book, but he would not choose without having read 
them. 14. We saw them come, but we did not believe 
that we knew them. 15. He lived a long time at 
Paris before dying. 



SELECTED SENTENCES 

FOR PRACTICE IN APPLYING THE RULES OF 
THE GRAMMAR. 

1. Articles and Nouns. 

1 Elle avait une voile blanche sur la tete. a Viens, 
Jeanne, donne-moi la main. 3 Anne, belle-soenr de 
Guillaume III., et fille de Jacques II., mariee a George, 
prince de Danemark, etait Pheritiere constitutionelle 
de la couronne. 4 Ma fille est veuve d'un homme qui 
etait fort considere dans le monde. 5 Monsieur est 
Persan ? C'est une chose extraordinaire. 6 J'ai une 
drole d'idee dans la tete. 7 Votre coqaine de Toinette 
est devenue plus insolente que jamais. 8 Le poudre a 
canon change a le systeme de la guerre; la peinture a 
Fhuile se developpe, et couvre PEurope des chefs 
d'ceuvre d'art. 9 On parlait de Thebes aux cent 
portes. 10 J'ai froid aux pieds, dit-il. " On a des 
bras, pas b de travail ; on a du cceur, point d'ouvrage. 
12 Ce sont c des heros qui fondent des empires, et des 
laches qui les perdent. 13 lis disaient qu'il n'etait 
point avec des garnisons que Ton prend des etats, 
mais avec des armees. 14 II n'est point de noblesse 
ou manque la vertu. 15 J'ai toujours preserve ma foi 
de chretien. 16 II n'y a rien d'etroit, rien de limite, 
dans la religion. 17 Les habitants de la Nouvelle- 
Hollande out le nez gros, les levres grosses, et la 
bouche grande. 1B On eprouva tout-a-coup les hor- 

•363, a. b 345, c i 56 , b. 

145 



146 SELECTED SENTENCES. 

reurs de la famine. 19 Quand la colere me prend, 
ordinairement la memoire me quitte. 20 A sa suite 
parut le jeune Mazarin. 21 C'etait un des rois qui 
ont, apres un siege de dix ans, renverse la fameuse 
Troie. 22 Les mines de Pompeies sont proches du 
Vesuve. 23 Le general Buonaparte avait toute une 
societe a a organizer. 

2. Adjectives and Numerals. 

1 Le frere et la scetir furent charmes. a Lisez les 
commentaires de Cesar ; c'est un style d'une nettete 
et d'une fermete singulieres. 3 Laurence vit la vieille 
femme aveugle etendue sur son lit. 4 Ah, madame! 
excusez mon aveugle douleur. 5 Je m'etais assis de- 
vant cette vieille petite table noire que vous connaissez. 
8 L'aveugle ne repondit rien. 7 Va trouver de ma 
part ce jeune ambitieux. 8 Je n'en suis pas surpris ; 
son caractere etait si different du votre. 9 Oswald 
etait mecontent de lui-meme. 10 II est tres adroit a 
tous les exercices. " Elle fut sublime de soins et 
detentions pour son vieux pere. 12 Les scelerats! ils 
m'ont attache les b mains, comme vous le voyez; ils 
etaient plus de vingt. 13 J'etais depuis une demi- 
heure environ plonge dans une sorte de torpeur. 
14 Hier, a dix heures et demie, le roi declara qu'il 
epousait la princesse de Pologne. 15 Tel etait Tetat 
de la France, lorsque Louis seize monta sur le trone, 
le onze mai, 1774. 

3. Personal and Possessive Pronouns. 

1 J'ai pense a elle d'abord, c'etait mon devoir; a 
moi ensuite, c'etait mon droit. 2 Vous Tappelez hypo- 
crite ; moi, je le crois devot, sincere, et de bonne foi. 

3 C'est moi qui suis coupable, et qu'il faut condamner. 

4 Je ne puis sans horreur me regarder moi-m£me. 

» £79, a. b 150, a. c 264, b. 



SELECTED SENTENCES. 147 

6 On ne lone point un homme ou un auteur comme 
eux-memes se louent. 6 Vous n'etiez pas coupable 
envers moi ; c'est moi qui le fus envers moi-meme. 

7 Vous etes Ardasire ? lui dis-je. — Oui, perfide, repon- 
dit-elle; je la suis. 8 Voyez Fregus et Eavenne qui 
out ete des ports et qui ne le sont plus. 9 Nous avons, 
vous et moi, besoin de tolerance. 10 II est beau de 
triompher de soi. H II est plus aise d'etre sage pour 
les autres que de Petre pour soi-meme. 12 J'etais 
indigne de vous, et j'en rougis. 13 C'etait elle, fen 
etais sur. 14 Pour avoir de vrais amis, il faut etre 
capable d'en faire et digne d'en avoir. 15 Partez, j'y 
consens; mais au moins ne deeouragez pas les autres. 
16 II est vrai qu'il nPoccupe sans cesse; et meme cette 
nuit j'y songeais. 17 J'ai dine hier avec lui; je lui 
disais : Vous mangez trop, mon oncle. 18 Suis-je bien 
informe ? Oui, mon president. 19 Je me suis blesse 
a la main. 20 Cette vie, je Pai en grande partie par- 
courue a . J'en connais les promesses, les realites, les 
deceptions. 



4. Demonstrative, Eelatiye, Interrogative, 
and Indefinite Pronouns. 

1 C'est cette partie de notre histoire contemporaine 
que je vais raconter aujourd'hui. 2 Ce qui nous a le 
plus manque dans nos desastres, ce ne sont pas des 
hommes, ce sont des chefs capables. 3 Monsieur veut- 
il que je le conduise du cote du pare ? — C'est inutile, 
je sais le cliemin. 4 II est le dieu du peuple et celui 
des soldats. 5 Celui qui gouverne doit etre le plus 
obeissant a la loi. 6 Celui-la est bon qui fait du bien 
aux autres. 7 La liberte est devenue la creanciere de 
tous les citoyens: les uns lui doivent leur industrie, 
les autres leur fortune ; ceux-ci leurs conseils, ceux-la 
leurs bras. 8 Qui vous a fait poete? — Le malheur. 

a 191, a, 



148 SELECTED SENTENCES. 

9 Seigneur, mon Dieu, que je suis malheureuse ! qu'est- 
ce que je vais devenir? 10 Que de clemence alors ! 
plus tard, que de bourreaux! " Quoi de plus mal- 
heureux que sa situation! 12 Insense que j'etais de 
croire a leur bonne foi! 1S Moi qui suis royaliste, je 
le dis franchement. 14 Dis-moi, qui es-tu, toi qui me 
paries ainsi ? 15 Heureux le peuple dont l'histoire est 
ennuyeuse. 16 C'est un homme sur la vie duquel re- 
posent d'enormes capitaux. 17 L'instant oii nous 
naissons est un pas vers la mort. 18 «Fai de quoi me 
defendre, et de quoi vous repondre. 19 Qui sert bien 
son pays n'a pas besoin d'aieux. 20 Depuis quelque 
temps je ne sais ni ce que vous devenez, ni ce que vous 
faites. 21 Qui que ce soit, parlez, et ne le craignez pas. 
22 Desormais je ne douterai de quoi que ce soit. 3S En 
passant nous saluions et Ton nous saluait. 24 On ne 
surmonte le vice qu'en le fuyant a . 25 Helas! aucun 
son ne f rappait notre oreille. 26 Nous autres diplomates 
profitons volontiers des fautes de nos collegues. 
27 Avez-vous de l'or et de l'argent ? me disent-ils ; 
nous ne souhaitons pas autre chose. 28 Quelque cor- 
rompues que soient nos mceurs, le vice n'a pas encore 
perdu toute sa honte. 29 Chaque condition a ses de- 
gouts, et a chaque etat sont attachees ses amertumes. 
30 Toute confiance est dangereuse, si b elle n'est en- 
tiere. 

5. Passive, Keflexive, and Impersonal Verbs. 

1 I/esprit feodal a ete detruit en France par le 
cardinal de Eichelieu. 2 Un peuple si juste devait 
etre cheri des dieux. s II parait qu'il s'est admira- 
blement conduit la-bas; on 1/a nomme capitaine. 
4 Les soldats sont faits pour se battre. 6 Ii vous est 
defendu de vous amuser ainsi 6 Te souviens-tu de la 
petite commune de Tredarzec ? 7 Celui qui croit trou- 
ver en soi-meme de quoi pouvoir se passer de tout le 

a 190, c. "243,6, 



SELECTED SENTENCES. 149 

monde se trompe fort. 8 Qu'est-ce qu'ils se disent 
done devant moi? Vous le a voyez, monsieur; nous 
nous faisons nos confidences. 9 Nous nous regardions 
sans rien comprendie. b 10 O'est singulier, . . . il me 
semble que j'ai peur. " II vaut mieux ceder; e'est 
plus prudent. 12 Sa mere etait morte il y avait long- 
temps, bien longtemps. 13 Des cris s'eleverent de tous 
cotes, et un cri s'echappa des levres de la petite fille. 
14 II s'agit de savoir, il ne s'agit pas seulement de par- 
ler. 15 II suffit que vous le disiez pour que je le croie. 
16 II n'y a pas trop de soleil, et il y a de la chaleur. 



6. Adverbs and Negative Expression. 

1 Tremblez, tremblez, mechants ; voici venir la 
foudre. 2 Nous voila mangeant et buvant, lai du 
moins. 3 Le soif de Tor, voila le principe des crimes 
et des malheurs. 4 Vous dites que non, je dis que si. 
6 J'ai trouve ce matin un livre que voici. 6 II n'y a 
point de siecle que nous commissions aussi bien que 
le siecle de Louis XIV. 7 C ? est pourtant bien triste 
de ne jamais danser, dit Landry. 8 II n'y a que ce 
valet qui soit suspect ici; Dorante n'a qu'a le chasser. 
9 Je n'ai plus rien a vous apprendre. 10 Jen^ai jamais 
rien vu qui i in prime tant de terreur. " En toute 
affaire ils ne font que songer an moyen d'exercer leur 
langue. 12 II n'a eu mil part a cette expedition. 
13 Certes il est bien malheureux, mais il ne peut etre 
cruel. * 4 Je ne sais si le marquis me pardonnerait. 
15 Qui de nous, monsieur, n'est sujet a l'erreur? 1<J Si 
je n'etais dans cette prison, je serais dans une autre. 
17 Quoi, cousine! Personne ne Vest venu rendre 
visite? Personne. 18 Puis rien, pas meme une 
plainte, ne succeda an cri de Guillaume. 19 Elle a rai- 
son ! — Ma foi, j'ai soutenu que non. 20 J'aime votre 
personne et non votre fortune. 21 Pour moi, je n'ai 

» 140, e. b 251, 383. ■ 371, c. 



150 SELECTED SENTENCES. 

pas grand'chose a dire. — Ni moi non plus. " Nous 
avions peur qu'elle ne nous grondat. a3 Depuis que 
je ne vous ai vu, il s'est passe de bien grandes choses. 
"Oh! tu m'eunuies; qu'ai-je besoin d'etre mieux 
que je ne suis? 25 Je ne l'ai pas, a moins qu'il ne soit 
dans nion lit. 



7. Pbepositions and Conjunctions. 

1 N'importe, madame ; c'est bien mal a vous. 2 Elle 
frappe a Marat au flanc gauche, et enfonce u le fer 
jusqu'au coeur. A moi! s'ecria-t-il. 3 Mon plus long 
sejour fut au Perou. 4 Le bceuf etait absolument in- 
connu dans TAmerique meridionale. 5 Vous parlez 
en soldat; je dois agir en roi. 6 Lorsqu'il etait jeune, 
et qu'il faisait des vers, Rousseau n'etait guere poete. 
7 C'etait la division qui se trouvait le plus en danger, 
parcequ'elle etait placee pres du Danube, et que, 
pour ce motif, Tennemi voulait Taccabler. 8 Vous le 
feriez officier de la Legion d'honneur qu'il ne serait 
pas plus superbe. 9 Marque-moi cet endroit, que je 
le lise mieux. 

8. Subject and Object. 

1 Dorante et moi, nous sommes destines Tun a Pautre. 
a Helas, non; nous serons tous tristes, vous, moi, les 
magistrats, et le public. 3 C'est heureux que ni toi 
ni moi n'ayons b pris le mal de ce pauvre frere. 4 Ce 
n'est pas un petit objet que deux cent mille francs. 
6 C'est un excellent meuble qu'un fauteuil. 6 Ah! 
les sottes gens que nos gens! 7 Danser et chanter, 
c'est gai, sans doute. 8 La commerce, c'est la vie de 
la nation. 9 Peut-etre mes efforts n'ont-ils pas ete 
tout-a-fait vains. 10 Le bruit de ses souliers fit lever 
la tete a la petite fille. 21 II dit qu'il a vu faire des 

a 263, a. b 369. 



SELECTED SENTENCES. 151 

actions heroi'ques au chevalier de Grignan. 12 Des pa- 
roles singulieres qu'on lui a entendu dire sur la religion, 
sur la cour de Rome, nous ont ete repetees. 13 II faut 
s'atteudre aux censures du monde quand on ne veut 
pas suivre ses exemples. 14 Elle ne peut, au souper, 
toucher a rien du tout. 15 J'aidai au Khodien confus 
a se relever. 16 De votre injuste haine il n'a point 
herite. 17 Apollon jouait de la flute, et tous les autres 
bergers venaient ecouter ses chansons. 

9. Tenses of the Indicative. 

1 Commej'achevais la quatviemeligne, jeleve vague- 
ment les yeux, et j'aperqois de l'autre cote du fosse un 
ours qui me regardait fixement. 2 Etendu, saris force, 
au pied d'un arbre, Bayard, en face de la mort, reste 
calme comme ton jours. 3 II y a longtemps que je 
reve d'un officier qui me sauve la vie. 4 Quand je 
revins a moi, il faisait a jour. 5 Charles XII. avait 
qnze ans lorsqu'il perdit sa mere. e Les anciens 
Egyptiens embaumaient leurs inorts, b les Grecs et les 
Eomains les brulaient. 7 On embauma le corps 
d' Alexandre, et on le transporta en Egypte. 6 Elles 
duraient depuis plus de dix ans, sans qirTL eut pu c les 
changer. 9 Pensez ; depuis quarante ans il etait la H 
la meme place. 10 J'ai su que vous etiez l'un des 
meilleurs amis de ce pauvre garqon. " II a trace 
d'elle, le jour de sa mort, une esquisse fidele. 12 Ma 
chere, mVt-il dit, j'ai failli etre tue. 13 Monpereme 
pardonnera, des qu'il vous aura vue. d 14 Si mon fils le 
rencontre, il lui fera tout le bien qu'il pourra. 

10. Subjunctive and Imperative. 

1 Dieu soit beni! vous voila vivant. a Plut aux 
dieux que ce fut le dernier de ses crimes! 8 Eut-il 

• 228, 6, a. b X13. c 272, b. d 132, a. 



152 SELECTED SENTENCES. 

6t6 bien plus fort et Lien pins habile, il fut tomb6 de 
m£me. 4 Cela ne m'etonne pas, dit-il, qu'il soit mort. 

• 11 faudrait que vous vinssiez vous-meme proposer ce 
mariage a mon pere. 6 II semble que Foil ne puisse 
rire que des choses ridicules. 7 II parait que decide- 
ment je suis un homme de genie. 8 Nous verrons, 
repondit M. Auvray; attends que la fievre soit passee. 
9 Conde et Turenne voulaient qu'on demolit la plupart 
des places hollandaises. 10 Je suppose que les homines 
soient eternels sur la terre. " Nous avons peur que 
tu n'aies pas tout dit a madame. 12 II n'y a que le 
bon Dieu qui puisse gouverner les choses et les hommes. 

13 II n'y a guere de defauts qui ne soient plus pardon- 
nables que les moyens dont on se sert pour les cacher. 

14 On envoya chercher un carrosse de louage, le plus 
beau qui fut dans toute la ville. 16 Elle me restera 
fidele jusqu'a ce que je puisse Tepouser. 16 lis Fai- 
derent a poser sa tete sur le billot, sans qu'elle cessat 
de prier. 17 Quelque rare que soit le veritable amour, 
il Test a moins que la veritable amitie. 18 Monsieur, 
il faut me dire votre nom, afin que je sache a qui je 
parle. 19 Je ne me serais pas console si monsieur le 
comte eut succombe. 20 Feignons de sortir, afin qu'il 
m'arrete. 21 Allons, Fanchette; dis done adieu a 
Marguerite. 22 Va, le mal n'est pas grand; consolons- 
nous. 

11. Infinitive and Participles. 

1 Ne me fais plus rougir d'entendre tes soupirs. 

• Je te plains de tomber dans ses mains redoutables. 

• Votre pere souffre de vous voir en proie a un si vio- 
lent desespoir. 4 II n'eut point pardonne a son frere 
d'etre venu voir la Fadette et non pas lui. 6 Elle 
Pamena doucement a parler de son fils. 6 II voulait 
accoutumer aussi ses Moscovites a ne pas connaitre 
de saison. 7 Qui pardonne aisement invite a Foffen- 

• 140, e. 



SELECTED SENTENCES. 153 

ser. 8 Deux hommes si adroits n'ont rien 3, gagner & 
se tromper Tun l'autre. 3, 9 On apporte a manger; on 
sert un dejeuner fort propre. 10 Mais elle va a ravir, 
continua-t-elle ; on la croirait faite pour madame la 
princesse. " II est homme b a profiter de cette fa- 
veur. 12 Vous n'etiez pas jeune quand vous avez 
commence a regner. 13 J'avais commence d'ecrire, et 
je m'arretai. 14 Son conseil ne laissait pas d'etre bon 
a suivre. 15 Va, ne me laisse pas un heros a venger. 
16 Attendre est impossible, agir ne Pest pas moms. 
1T Oh, doucement, s'aimer, c c'est une autre affaire. 
18 Plutot souffrir que mourir, c'est la devise des 
hommes. 19 II n'y a pour Thomme que trois evene- 
ments: naitre, vivre, et mourir. 20 II aimait mieux 
ne rien faire que de travailler. 21 Viens voir mourir 
ta sceur dans les bras de ton pere. 2a Je ne peux pas 
vous donner cent mille francs, mais je m'en vais man- 
ger votre diner. 23 Mais croyez-vous avoir tue tous 
les Marats? 24 Chacun dans ce miroir pense voir son 
image. 25 II disait venir du fond de la Boheme. 

26 Quoi? condamner lavictime, et epargner Tassassin ? 

27 Defendez-vous, Horace ! — A quoi bon me defendre? 

28 Tous deux partent, Germain revant a sa defunte d 
plus qu'a sa future, et Marie pleurant de quitter sa 
mere. 29 On ne voyait de tous cotes que des femmes 
tremblantes, qui se retiraient dans la ville. so Voila 
Forage qui vient. 31 Quatre cents blesses russes sont 
restes sur le champ de bataille. 82 Les cavaliers qui 
sont tombes sous vos coups se sont attire eux-memes 
ce malheur. 33 Je regrette les nombreuses annees 
que j'ai vecu sans pouvoir m'instruire. 34 Tout le 
monde m'a offert des services, et personne ne m'en a 
rendu. 35 Les graudes chaleurs qu'il a fait e cet ete 
ont beaucoup nui a la recolte. 

»180. b 82, 6. '221. * 113. •228,6, a. 



VOCABULARIES. 



I. Frexch-Exglish Vocabulary. 



a prep. (248c) to, toward, 
into; at, in ; of, with (94) ; 
on, by, from; belonging to 
(197). 

abord, d'abord ac^. first, at first. 

absolument adv. absolutely. 

abuser (de) v, abuse, impose 
upon. 

accabler v. overwhelm. 

accoutumer v. accustom. 

acheter v. buy. 

achever v. finish. 

action /. action, deed. 

adieu m. farewell, good-by. 

admirablement adv. admirably. 

adroit adj. adroit, skillful. 

affaire /. business. 

afin que conj. in order that. 

age adj. aged. old. 

agir v. act, behave; s'agir de, 
impers. concern, be ques- 
tion of. 

aider v. aid, help: aider a, give 
belp to or about. 

aleul (pi. aieux or aleuls) m. 
grandfather, ancestor. 

aimer v. love, like. 

ainsi adv. thus, so: ainsi que, 
as, so as, as well as. 

aise adj. easy. 

aisement adv. easily. 

Alexandre, Alexander. 



aller v. (irreg. 3) go, be going; 
fit, suit (228, 1.) : s'en aller 
impers. go off or away. 

alors adv. then. 

ambitieux adj. ambitious. 

amener v. lead, induce. 

Amerique/. America. 

amertume/. bitterness. 

ami m. amie/. friend. 

amitie/. friendship. 

amour m. love. 

amuser v. amuse, entertain. 

an m year. 

ancien adj. ancient; former. 

Angleterre/. England. 

annee/. year. 

apercevoir v. {irreg. 52) per- 
ceive. 

Apollon, Apollo. 

appeler v. call. 

apporter v. bring. 

apprendre v. {irreg. 50) teach, 
learn. 

approcher v. bring near: s' . . . 
de, draw near, approach. 

apres prep, after. 

arbre m. tree. 

Ardasire, woman's name. 

argent m. silver, money. 

armee/. army. 

arreter v. stop. 

art m. art. 

155 



156 



FRENCH-ENGLISH 



assassin m. assassin, 
assez adv. enough, 
attacher v. tie, attach. 
attendre v. wait for, await: 

a' ... a, await, expect, 
attention/, attention, 
attirer v. draw, attract: a' . . ., 

bring upon one's self, incur, 
au, aux = a le, a les. 
aucun pron. {with ne before 

verb) no. not any. 
aujourd'hui adv. to day. 
aussi adv. also, too: . . . bien 

que, as well as. 
autant adv. as much or many: 

. . . que, as much as. 
auteur m. author, 
autre pron. other (180). 
avant prep, before (in time) : 

. . . que, . . . de, conj. before, 
avec prep. with, 
aveugle adj. blind. 
avoir v. have (186): y avoir 

impers. there is, etc. (225;. 
avril m. April. 

bal m. ball. 

bas adv. low. 

bataille /. battle. 

batir v. build. 

battre v. beat, strike: se . . ., 

right. 
beau, bel adj. (107) beautiful, 

handsome, 
beaucoup adv. much, 
bel. see beau. 

belle soeur/. sister-in-law. 
benir v. bless. 
berger m. shepherd. 
besoin m. need, want: avoir 

. . . de, need, want (196). 
bien adv. well, very, 
bien m. goods, property. 
bientot adv. soon, 
billot m. block. 
blanc adj. (1065) white, 
blesser v. wound. 



boeuf m. ox. 
Boheme/. Bohemia, 
boire v. (irreg. 6) drink, 
bois >/>. wood, 
bon adj. good. 

bonte /. goodness, kindness, 
bouche/. mouth, 
bourreau m. executioner, tor- 
mentor, 
bras m. arm. 
brebis/. sheep. 
bruit m. noise, 
bruler v. burn. 

cacher v. hide. 

calme adj. still, calm. 

canon m. cannon: poudre a 
.... gunpowder. 

capable adj. capable. 

capitaine m. captain. 

capital m. capital 

caractere m. character. 

cardinal m, cardinal. 

carrosse m. coach, carriage. 

cavalier m. horseman, cav- 
alier, knight. 

ce, cet, cette pron. (153-6) this, 
that; it. 

ceci pron. this. 

ceder v. yield, cede. 

cela pron. that. 

celui, celle (158), that, he who. 

censure/, censure, blame. 

cent num. (1215) hundred. 

certes adv. truly, certainly. 

Cesar, Caesar. 

cesse/ cease: sans . . ., with- 
out ceasing. 

cesser v. stop, cease. 

cet, cette, see ce. 

chacun pron. each, each one. 

chaise/, chair. 

chaleur, / warmth, heat. 

chambre/. room. 

champ m. field. 

changer v. change, alter :.. . 
de, make a change in. 



VOCABULARY. 



157 



chanson m. song. 

chanter v. sing. 

chapeau m. hat. 

chaque proa. (1825) each, every. 

charmer v. charm, delight. 

chasser v. chase, hunt ; drive 
out, expel. 

chaud adj. warm: avoir . . ., 
be warm (196). 

chef m. chief, master: . . . 
d'aeuvre, masterpiece. 

chemin m. road. 

cher adj. dear, expensive (112c). 

chercher v. seek, look for, try. 

cherir v cherish. 

cheval m. horse. 

chevalier m. chevalier, knight. 

chez prep, at the house or 
home of, with. 

choisir v. choose. 

chose /. thing : grand' . . ., 
anything important. 

Chretien adj. Christian. 

cinq num. live. 

citoyen m. citizen. 

clemence/. clemency. 

coeur m. heart. 

colore/, auger. 

collegue m. colleague. 

combien adv. how much. 

comme adv as, how. 

commencer^ begin, commence. 

commentaire m. commentary. 

commerce m. commerce, trade. 

commune /. parish, village. 

com prendre v. (irreg. 50; under- 
stand. 

comte m. count. 

condamner v. condemn. 

Conde, prince of Conde (a fa- 
mous French general). 

condition /. condition, station 
in life. 

conduire v. (irreg. 12) conduct, 
lead. 

confiance/. trust, confidence. 

confidence f. confidence, secret. 



confns adj. confused, embar- 
rassed. 

connaitre v. {irreg. 43) be ac- 
quainted with, know. 

conseil m. counsel, advice. 

consentir v. {irreg. 4A) con- 
sent 

considerer v. consider, esteem. 

consoler t. console. 

constamment adv. constantly. 

constant adj. constant. 

constitutional adj. constitu- 
tional. 

contemporaine adj. contem- 
porary. 

continuer v. continue. 

coquin m. coquine /. rascal, 
scamp. 

corrompu adj. corrupt. 

cote m. side, part: detous cotes, 
on all sides; du . . . de, to- 
ward, in the direction of. 

coucher v. lay down , put to bed : 
se . . ., go to bed. 

coup m. blow: tout-a-coup adv. 
all at once, suddenly. 

coupable adj. guilty. 

cour /. court. 

couronne/. crown. 

coasin m. cousine/. cousin. 

couvrir v. (irreg. 16) cover. 

craindre v. (irreg. 17) fear. 

crayon m. pencil. 

creancier m. -ciere/. creditor. 

cri m. cry. 

crime m. crime. 

cruel adj. cruel. 

croire v. (irreg. 18) believe (228, 
2). 

dame /. lady. 
Danemark m. Denmark, 
danger m. danger, 
dangereux adj. dangerous, 
dans prep, in, into, to (250). 
danser v. dance. 
Danube m. the Danube. 



158 



FRENCH-ENGLISH 



de prep. (87-100, 114, 248) of; 
from ; about ; out of, on ac- 
count of, for ; with, by, 
through ; at, on ; to (278) ; 
than (125). 

deception /. deception. 

decidement adv. decidedly. 

declarer v. declare, announce. 

decourager v. discourage. 

defaut m. defect, fault. 

defendre m. ward off, keep 
away ; forbid, prohibit ; de- 
fend, protect. 

defunt adj. defunct, dead. 

degout m. dislike, aversion, 
vexation. 

deja adv. already. 

dejeuner v. breakfast. 

dejeuner m. breakfast. 

demain adv. to-morrow. 

demi adj. (129a) half. 

demolir v. demolish. 

depuis prep, from, since : . . . 
que conj. since. 

dernier adj. last. 

des = de les. 

des que conj . as soon as. 

desastre m. disaster. 

desespoir m. despair. 

desormais adv. henceforward. 

destiner v. destine. 

deux num. two. 

devant prep, before (in place). 

developper v. unfold, develop. 

devenir v. (irreg. 62) become : 
ce qu'il devient, etc., what 
has become of him, etc. 

devise /. motto. 

devoir v. (irreg. 22) owe, ought, 
be obliged (228, 3). 

devoir m. duty. 

devot adj. devout, pious. 

Dieu m. God. 

different adj. different. 

digne adj. worthy. 

diner v. dine. 

diner m. dinner. 



diplomate m. diplomatist. 

dire v {irreg. 23) say, tell. 

division/, division. 

dix num. ten. 

done adv. then, therefore. 

donner v. give. 

dont pron. (172) of which, of 
whom. 

Dorante, a man's name. 

doucement adv. softly. 

douleur/. pain, grief. 

doute m. doubt. 

douter v. doubt, question 
(about, de): se . . . de, sus- 
pect. 

droit m. right. 

drole adj. queer, odd. 

du = de le. 

durer v. endure, last. 

echapper, s' . . . v. escape (a, 
from). 

ecolef. school. 

ecouter v. listen. 

eerier, s* . . . v. cry out, ex- 
claim. 

ecrire v. (irreg. 25) write. 

effort m. effort. 

eglise/. church. 

%ypte/ Egypt. 

egyptien adj. Egyptian. 

elever v. raise, educate: s* . . ., 
rise. 

elle pron. she. 

embaumer v. embalm. 

empire m. empire. 

emprunter v. borrow (from, a). 

Qnprep (250) in, into, to ; as a. 

en pron. (143) of it, of them ; 
some, any. 

encore adv. still, again ; more. 

endroitw. spot, place. 

enfant m. or f. child. 

enfoncer v. sink, plunge. 

ennemi m. enemy. 

ennuyer v. weary, bore: a' . . ., 
be wearied or bored. 



VOCABULARY. 



159 



ennuyeux adj . tiresome, stupid. 

enorme a<>j. enormous. 

ensuite adv. iu the next place, 
afterward, then. 

entendre v. hear. 

entier adj. entire. 

en vers prep, toward. 

environ adv. prep, about, near- 
ly, not far from. 

envoyer v. (irreg. 26) send. 

epargner v. spare. 

epouser v. marry. 

eprouver v. try, experience. 

erreur /. error, mistake. 

esprit m. spirit; mind, intel- 
lect; wit. brightness. 

esquisse/. sketch. 

et conj. and. 

etat m. state, condition in life; 
State, country. 

ete m. summer. 

etendre v. extend, stretch out. 

eternel adj. eternal. 

etonner v. astonish: s' . . ., be 
astonished. 

etre v. (194) be ; as auxil. have 
(195) ; . . . a, belong to (197). 

etroit adj. narrow. 

Europe/. Europe. 

evLxpron. them. 

evenement m. event. 

excellent adj. excellent. 

excuser v. excuse. 

exemple m. example. 

exercer v. exercise. 

exercice m. exercise. 

expedition/, expedition. 

extraordinaire adj. extraordi- 
nary. 

face /. face, front: en . . . de, 

in front of, before. 
Fadette, name of a girl, 
faillir v. {irreg. 27) fail, come 

short; just miss of (228, 5). 
faim /. hunger, famine : avoir 

. . ., be hungry (196). 



faire v. (irreg. 28) do, make, 

cause ; be (228, 6). 
falloir v. (irreg. 29) impers. 

be obliged, must, have to ; 

need, want (228, 7). 
fameux adj. famous, 
famille/. family, 
famine/ famine. 
Fanchette, girl's name, 
faute/. deficiency, fault, 
fauteuil m. arm-chair, 
favenr/. favor, 
feindre v. (irreg. 45) feign, make 

believe, 
femme/. woman, wife, 
feodal adj. feudal, 
fer m. iron. 

fermete/ firmness, strength, 
feu m. tire. 

fidele adj. faithful, true, exact, 
fievre/. fever, 
fille/ girl, daughter, 
fils m. son. 
fixement adv. fixedly, 
flanc m. flank, side, 
fleur/ flower, 
flute/ flute. 
foi/ faith, belief, 
fond m. bottom, base, depth, 
fonder v. found, establish. 
force / force: a . . . de, by 

means of, by dint of. 
foretra. forest, 
fort adj. strong ; adv. strongly, 

greatly, much, very, 
fortune/ fortune, luck. 
fo3se m. ditch, trench, 
foudre/ thunderbolt. 
franc m. franc (a French coin 

worth about 20 cents). 
France / France, 
franchement adv. frankly, 
frapper v. strike, knock, 
frere m. brother, 
froid adj. cool, cold: avoir . . ., 

be cold (196). 
fruit m. fruit. 



160 



FRENCH-ENGLISH 



fuir v. (irreg. 31) flee ; fly from, 

shun, 
futur adj. future. 

gai adj. gay. 

gagner v. gain, win, earn. 

gant m. glove. 

garc,on m. boy ; bachelor. 

garnison m. garrison. 

gateau m. cake. 

gauche adj. left hand ; awk- 
ward. 

geler v. impers. freeze. 

genie m. genius. 

gens /. pi. folks, people, per- 
sons ; servants. 

Germain, man's name. 

gouverner v. govern. 

grand adj. great, large, tall : 
grand'chose, anything great, 
matter of importance. 

grec adj. Greek, Grecian. 

gronder v. scold. 

gros adj. big, stout, large. 

guere, ne . . . guere adv. (244), 
hardly, scarcely, but little. 

guerre/, war. 

Guillaume, William. 

habile adj. able, skillful. 

habitant m. inhabitant. 

'haine/. hate, hatred. 

'hair v. (208) hate, dislike. 

'haut adj. high, tall. 

helas inter j. alas ! 

heriter v. inherit. 

heritier m. heritiere /. heir, 

heiress, 
heroique adj. heroic, 
'heros m. hero, 
heure /. hour ; time of day, 

o'clock (1236). 
heureux adj. happy, fortunate, 
hier adv. yesterday, 
histoire/. history ; story, 
'hollandais adj. of Holland, 

Dutch. 



'Hollande/. Holland. 

homme m. man. 

honneur/ honor. 

'honte/. shame : avoir . . ., be 

ashamed (196). 
horreur/ horror, 
huile/. oil. 
'huit num. eight, 
hypocrite m. hypocrite. 

ici adv. here. 

idee/, idea. 

il, ils pron. he, it, they ; it 
(156c, 222). 

image m. image, likeness. 

importer v. be of importance, 
matter, signify: n'importe, 
no matter, never mind 
(243c). 

impossible adj. impossible. 

imprimer v. print; impress, im- 
part, give. 

inconnu adj. unknown. 

indigne adj. unworthy. 

industrie /. industry ; trade, 
business. 

informer v. inform: s' . . ., get 
information, ask, inquire. 

in juste adj. unjust. 

insense adj. mad, insane, fool- 
ish. 

insolent adj. insolent, imperti- 
nent. 

instant m. instant. 

instruire v. {irreg. 12) instruct. 

inutile adj. useless. 

inviter v. invite. 



Jacques, James, 
jamais adv. never: ne . 

mais, never (244). 
jardin m. garden. 
Jeanne, Jane, 
jeune adj. young, 
joli adj. pretty, 
jouer v play (upon, de). 
journal m. newspaper. 



ja- 



VOCABULARY. 



161 



journee/. day. 

juillet m. July. 

juin m. June. 

jusqu'apr^/?. to, until, as far as: 

jusqu'a ce que conj. until. 
juste adj. just, righteous. 

la art. and pron. the ; her, it. 
la adv. there (158) : de la, 

theuce. 
la-bas adv. down there, over 

there, yonder, 
lache adj. slothful, cowardly, 

base : as noun, coward, das- 
tard, 
laisser v. leave, quit, abandon; 

let, leave, allow, cause; leave 

off (from, de), omit, fail. 
Landry, man's name, 
langue /. tongue ; language, 

speech, 
le pron. and art. he, it ; the. 
legion/, legion. 
lequel pron. (164) which one, 

who, that, 
lettre/. letter, 
leur pron. to them ; their, 
lever v. raise, lift up : se . . ., 

rise, get up. 
levre/ lip. 
liberte/ liberty. 
lieu m. place, spot: avoir . . . , 

take place; au. . . de, instead 

of. 
ligne/. line. 
limite adj. limited, 
lire v. (irreg. 34) read, 
lit m. bed. 
livrera. book, 
livre/. pound, 
loi/. law. 
long adj. long. 
longtemps adv. a long time or 

while, 
lor s que conj. when, 
louage m. hire, letting out: de 

. . . , on hire. 



| louer v. praise, 
lui pron. him ; to him or her. 

| M. abbreviation of Monsieur, 
equivalent to our Mr. 

madame(mesdames£>£wr.)/. my 
lady, the lady, madam. 

magistrat m. magistrate. 

mai m. May. 
; main/, band. 
! maintenant adv. now. 
| mais conj. but. 
i maison /. house: a la . . ., at 

home. 
j maitre m. master, teacher. 
| mal adv. badly, ill. 
i mal m. evil, ill, harm, pain, 
disease (94a). 

malade adj. sick, ill. 

malheur /. unhappiness, mis- 
fortune. 

malheureux adj. unfortunate, 
unhappy. 

malheureusement adv. unfor- 
tunately. 

manger v. eat. 

maniere/. manner, way, meth- 
od. 

manquer v, be wanting or de- 
ficient (in, de); lack ; fail. 

Marat, a famous French revo- 
lutionist. 

mardi m. Tuesday. 

mariage m. marriage. 

Marie, Mary. 

Marguerite, Margaret. 

marier v. give in marriage: 
se . . ., marry. 

marquer v. mark, designate. 

marquis m. marquis. 

matin ra. morning. 

mauvais adj. bad. 

Mazarin, a French cardinal. 

me pron. me, to me. 

mechant adj. wicked, bad; mis- 
chievous, naughty. 

mecontent adj. discontented. 



162 



FRENCH-ENGLISH 



meilleur adj. better. 

meme adj. (140c) self, -self ; 

self -same, same, very: as 

adv. even: de . . ., in the 

same way. 
memoire /. memory, recollec- 
tion, 
mener v. lead, conduct, take, 
merci m. thanks : absolutely, 

thauk you. 
mere/, mother, 
meridional adj. southern, 
merit e/. merit. 
meriter v. merit, deserve, 
mettre v. {irreg. 36) put, place, 

set; se. . . a, set one's self at, 

begin, 
meuble m. furniture, piece of 

furniture. 
midi m. midday, noon, twelve 

o'clock, 
mien adj. mine, 
mieux adv. better, 
mil, mille num. thousand, 
million m. million, 
minute/, minute, moment, 
miroir m. mirror, 
moeurs /. pi. manners, morals, 

habits. 
moi pron. me, to me, I. 
moins adv. less: du . . ., au . . ., 

at least: a . . . que, unless. 
mois m. month, 
mon, ma, mes pron. my. 
monde m. world ; tout le . . . , 

everyone, 
monsieur {pi. messieurs) m. the 

gentleman, sir, Mr. 
monter v. mount, climb, rise, 
moquer v. mock : se . . . de, 

ridicule, mock at. 
morceau m. bit, morsel, small 

piece, extract, 
mort/. death, 
mort adj. dead, 
moscovite adj. of Moscow, 
motif m. motive, cause, reason. 



mourir v. (irreg. 38) die. 
moyen m. means, way. 

naitre v. {irreg. 40) be born 
(228, 8). 

nation/, nation. 

ne adv. (241-47) not. 

neiger v. impers. snow. 

nettete/. neatness, clearness. 

neuf adj. new. 

neuf num. nine. 

nez m. nose. 

ni adv. (244$) neither, nor. 

noblesse/, nobility. 

noir adj. black. 

nom m. name. 

nombreux adj. numerous. 

nommer v. name, appoint. 

non adv. (246) not; no: nonplus, 
not any more, neither. 

notre pron. our. 

notre pron. ours. 

nous pron. we, us. 

nouveau, nouvel adj. new. 

nuire v. {irreg. 41) harm, in- 
jure, do hurt (to, a). 

nuit/ night. 

nul pron. (244eZ) not any, none, 
no; no one. 

nullement adv. not at all, in no 
wise. 

obeir v. be obedient (to, a), 
obey. 

obeissant adj. obedient. 

objet m. object. 

occuper v. occupy: s' . . . , oc- 
cupy one's self, be busy 
(with, de); spend one's time 
(upon, de). 

oeil (yevixpl.) m. eye. 

offenser v. offend. 

officier m. officer. 

offrir v. (irreg. 16) offer, pre- 
sent. 

on pron. (178) one, they 

oncle m. uncle. 



VOCABULARY. 



163 



onze num. eleven. 
or m. gold. 

orage m. storm, tempest, 
ordinairement adv. ordinarily, 
ordonner v. order, 
oreille/. ear. 
organizer v. organize. 
ou conj. or. 

ou adv. and pron. (173) where? 
where ; to or at or in which, 
oublier v. forget, 
oui adv. yes. 
ours m. bear, 
ouvrage m. work, labor. 

pain m. bread. 

papier m. paper. 

par prep. by. 

paraitre v. (irreg. 43) appear, 
seem. 

pare m. park. 

parceque conj. because. 

parconrir v. (irreg. 15) run 
through or over, traverse, 
pass through. 

pardonnable adj. pardonable. 

pardonner v. pardon, forgive. 

paresseux adj. lazy. 

parler v. speak, talk. 

parole /. word ; speech, lan- 
guage. 

part /. part, portion, share: de 
ma . . . , on my part or my 
behalf, from me. 

partie /. part, portion, share. 

partir v. {irreg. 44) set out, start, 
go away, leave. 

partout adv. everywhere. 

pas m. step. 

pas adv. {with ne) not (241): 
pas du tout, not at all. 

passers, pass, go on or through, 
spend: se . . ., impers. take 
place, happen; se . . . de, 
dispense with, go without. 

pauvre adj. poor. 

pays m. country. 



peine/, pain, grief : a . . ., with 
difficulty, hardly. 

peinture/. painting. 

pendant prep, during: . . . que 
conj. while. 

perdre v. lose. 

pere m. father. 

perfide adj. perfidious. 

Perou m. Peru. 

persan adj. Persian. 

personne /. person, individual ; 
with ne (244), no one, no- 
body. 

petit adj. little, small. 

peu adv. (or as noun, m.) little, 
not much, not very. 

peuple m. people, nation. 

peur /. fear: avoir . . ., be 
afraid (196). 

peut-etre adv. may be, per- 
haps. 

pied m. foot. 

pire adj. worse. 

place/, place. 

placer v. place, set. 

plaindre v. {irreg. 17) weep 
over, lament, pity: se . . ., 
complain, lament. 

plainte /. plaint, cry of pain, 
groan. 

plaire v. (irreg. 46) please. 

pleurer v. weep, lament. 

plonger v. plunge. 

plupart /. greater part: la plu- 
part de, most of, most. 

plus adv. more ; the more ; with 
ne (244), no longer, not fur- 
ther, no more : plus . . . plus 
the more . . . the more . . . 

plutot adv. sooner, rather. 

poete m. poet. 

point m. point, dot ; with ne 
(241), not, not at all. 

Pologne,/. Poland. 

Pompeies, Pompeii. 

port m. harbor, port. 

poser v. pose, place. 



164 



FRENCH-ENGLISH 



possible adj. possible, 
poste/. post, post-office, 
poudre/. powder. 
pour prep. for. on account of 

in order to, to : pour que, in 

order that. 
pourquoi adv. and conj. why, 

for what, 
pourtant adv. for all that, yet, 

nevertheless. 
pouvoir v. (irreg. 49) be able, 

can; may, might (228, 10). 
prendre v. {irreg. 50) take. 
pres adv. and prep, near, next: 

. . . de, near, near by, next 

to. 
preserver v. preserve, keep, 
president m. president, 
presque adv. almost. 
prier v. pray, beg, request, ask. 
prince m prince, 
princesse/. princess. 
principe m. principle, 
prison/, prison, 
prochain adj. near, next, 
proche adj. near (to, de). 
profiter v. profit (by, de), take or 

get advantage. 
proie/. prey : en ... a, a prey 

to. 
promesse/. promise, 
promettre v. {irreg 36) promise., 
proposer v. propose. 
propre adj. own ; very ; suita- 
ble ; nice, clean, 
prudent adj. prudent, 
public adj. public, 
puis adv. then, next, 
punir v. punish. 

quand adv. and conj. when ; if, 

supposing that, 
quant pron. how much : quant 

a, as for. 
quarante num. forty, 
quart m. quarter, 
quatorze num. fourteen. 



quatre num. four. 

quatre-vingts num. fourscore, 
eighty. 

quatrieme num. fourth. 

que pron.: interrog. what, 
which ; relat. which, that, 
whom ; after qui, quoi, etc. 
(181c) ever : ce que, that 
which, what. 

que adv. how, why. 

que conj. that ; sign of subjunc- 
tive (188a); in order that; re- 
peating si, lorsque, etc. (257); 
than (118): que . . . ne, unless, 
until (273&); ne . . . que 
(2445), only. 

quel pron. what, what a, 
which : quel . . . que (177), 
whatever. 

quelque pron. some ; about, 
nearly: quelque . . . que (177), 
whatever, however; . . . 
chose, something, anything. 

qui pron.: interrog. who, 
whom, what ; relat. who, 
whom, that, which ; who- 
ever; qui que, whoever (177). 

quinze num. fifteen. 

quitters, quit, leave. 

quoi pron.: interrog. what; rel. 
what, which ; exclam. (163) 
what ! quoi que (177), what- 
ever ; de quoi, wherewith, 
the means (171). 

quoique conj. (272a) though, 
although. 

raconter v. tell, relate. 

raison f. reason, sense, motive : 

avoir . . . (196), be right, 
rare adj. rare, unusual, 
ravir v. ravish, delight, charm, 
realite/. reality. 
recevoir v. {irreg. 52) receive, 
recolte/. harvest, crop, 
redoutable adj. redoubtable, 

formidable. 



VOCABULARY. 



165 



regarder v. look, regard, see ; 
have regard to. concern. 

regner v. reign, rule. 

regretter v. regret. 

reine/ queen. 

rejouir^. gladden, cheer: se. . ., 
rejoice, be delighted. 

relever v. raise up again, lift 
up. 

religion /. religion. 

rencontrer v. meet, fall in "with. 

rendre v. render, return, give 
back ; make, cause to be : 
. . . service, do a service. 

renverser v. overthrow, over- 
turn. 

renvoyer v. (irreg. 26) send back, 
return. 

repeter v. repeat. 

repondre v. respond, reply. 

reposer v. repose, rest : se . . . , 
take rest, rest. 

r ester v. remain, stay, con- 
tinue. 

retirer v. draw back : se . . . , 
withdraw, retreat. 

reussir v. succeed (in, a). 

revenir v. {irreg. 62) return. 

rever v. dream. 

rhodien adj. of Rhodes. 

riche adj. rich. 

Kichelieu, a prime minister of 
France. 

ridicule adj. ridiculous. 

ridicule m. absurdity. 

rien pron. (with ne~244) noth- 
ing, not anything: . . . du 
tout, nothing at all. 

rire v. {irreg. 54), laugh. 

robe/, robe, dress. 

roi m. king. 

romain adj. Roman. 

roman m. romance, novel. 

rose/, rose. 

rouge adj. red. 

rougir v. turn red, blush. 

Eousseau, French author. 



royaliste adj. royalist, of the 

king's party, 
royaume m. kingdom, 
ruine/ ruin, 
russe adj. Russian. 

sage adj. sage, wise; well-be- 
haved. 

saison/. season, time of year. 

saluer v. salute, greet, bow to. 

sans prep, without : . . . que, 
without, unless (2725). 

sauver v. save. 

savoir v. (irreg. 55) know, 
know as, know to be; know 
how (228, 11). 

scelerat m. villain, scoundrel. 

sepron. (142, 216a, 221) him-, 
her- or it-self, themselves. 

seigneur m. lord. 

seize num. sixteen. 

sejour m. sojourn, stay. 

sembler ». seem, appear. 

sept num. seven. 

service m. service. 

servir v. {irreg. 56) serve; be of 
use, help ; serve, put on the 
table : . . . de, serve as ; se . . . 
de, make use of. 

seul adj. alone, only. 

seulement adv. only. 

si conj. if, whether. 

si adv. so, as ; yes (232a). 

siecle m. century, age. 

siege m. siege. 

sien pro?i. his, hers, its. 

sincere adj. sincere. 

singulier adj. singular, pecu- 
liar. 

situation/ situation. 

six num. six. 

societe/ society. 

soeur/ sister. 

soi pron. (142) one's self. 

soie / silk. 

soif / thirst : avoir . . . , be 
thirsty. 



166 



FRENCH-ENGLISH 



soin m. care, attention. 

soir m. evening. 

soixante num. sixty. 

soldat m. soldier. 

soleil m. sun. 

son, sa, ses pron. his, her, its. 

son m. sound. 

songer v. dream, muse, think 
(of, a). 

sorte /. sort, kind, species : de 
la sorte, in that way. 

sortir v. (irreg. 44) come forth, 
proceed, go out 'from, de). 

sot adj. foolish, silly, stupid. 

souffrir v. (irreg. 16) suffer. 

souhaiter v. wish, desire 

Soulier m. shoe. 

souper m. supper. 

soupir m. sigh. 

soutenir v. {irreg. 62) sustain, 
uphold, maintain. 

souvent adv. often. 

souvenir v. [irreg. 62) come to 
mind : se ... de, rememher, 
recollect. 

style m. style. 

sublime adj. sublime. 

succeder v. succeed : . . . a, fol- 
low. 

8uccomber v. succumb, give 
way. 

suffire v. [irreg. 57) suffice, be 
sufficient. 

suite /. what follows, sequel ; 
train. 

suivre v. (irreg. 58) follow. 

sujet adj. subject, liable. 

superbe adj. proud, splendid. 

supposer v. suppose. 

sur prep, on, upon; over, above, 
about. 

sur adj. sure, steady, trust- 
worthy. 

surmonter v. surmount, over- 
come, surpass. 

surprendre v. (irreg. 50) sur- 
prise. 



surprise/, surprise, 
suspect adj. suspected, distrust- 
ed. 
systeme m. system. 



table/, table, 
tache/ task, 
tant adv. so much or many, as 

much or many, 
tard adj. and adv. late, 
te pron. thee, to thee, 
tel pron. such; such a one, so 

aud so. 
temps m. time; weather, 
tenir v. (irreg. 62) hold, keep, 
terre/. earth, 
terreur/. terror, 
tete/. head. 
Thebes m. Thebes, 
tien pron. thine. 
Toinette, girl's name, 
tolerance/, tolerance, 
tomber v. fall 
ton, ta, tes pron. thy. 
torpeur/ torpor, 
toucher v. touch, be close upon, 

move, 
ton jours adv. always, 
tout pron. (182) all, every ; 

whole, the whole ; as adv.. 

wholly, entirely; . . . le mon- 

de, all the world, everybody; 

tout-a-fait, entirely; tout-a- 

coup, all at once; tout de suite, 

immediately, 
tracer v. trace, draw, 
transporter v. transport, move, 
travail m. work, labor, 
travailler v. work, labor, 
trembler v. tremble, 
tres adv. very, 
triompher v. triumph (over, de), 

conquer, 
triste adj. sad. 
Troie/. Troy. 
trois num. three. 



1 



VOCABULARY. 



167 



tromper v. deceive, cheat : se 
. . . , deceive one's self, be 
mistaken. 

trone m. throne. 

trop adv. too much, too many. 

trouver v. find, discover ; find 
to be, consider, think : se 
. . ., find one's self, be. 

tuer v. kill. 

Turenne, famous French gen- 
eral. 

un, une num. or art. one ; a, an. 

vache /. cow. 
vaguement adv. vaguely. 
vain adj vain, useless, idle, 
valet m. valet, man-servant, 
valoir v. {irreg. 61) be worth, 

have the value of : . . . 

mieux, be worth more, be 

better, 
velours m. velvet, 
vendre v. sell, 
venger v avenge, 
venir v. (irreg. 62) come, be 

coming : . . . de, have just 

(228, 13). 
veritable adj. veritable, true. 
vers prep, toward, about, 
vers ra. verse, poetry, 
vertu/. virtue. 



Vesuve m. Vesuvius. 

veuve/, widow. 

viande/. meat. 

vice m. vice. 

victime/. victim. 

vie/, life. 

vieux, vieil adj. old, aged. 

vingt num. twenty. 

violent adj. violent. 

visite/ visit, call. 

vivre v. (irreg. 64) live. 

voici interj. (233) see here, here 

is, see, behold, 
voila interj. (233) see there, 

there is, see, behold, 
voile/ veil, 
voir v. (irreg. 65) see. 
voix / voice, 
volontiers adv. voluntarily, 

with pleasure, 
votre pron. you. 
votre^nm. yours, 
vouloir v. (irreg. 66) (228, 15) 

wish, will, desire, want; 

mean, intend : en ... a, 

have a grudge against. 
v cms pron. you. 
vrai adj. true. 

y adv. pron. there ; to it, to 

them (1435). 
yeux pi. of ceil, eye. 



II. English-French Vocabulary. 



a, an, un. 

able, be . . ., pouvoir (irreg. 49. 

228, 10). 
abuse, abuser de. 
acquainted, be . . . with, con- 

naitre (irreg. 43). 
afraid, be . . ., avoir peur (196). 
after prep, apres; conj. apres 

que. 
again, encore. 
all, tout (182). 
almost, presque. 
alone, seul 
already, deja. 
also, aussi. 

although, quoique (272). 
always, toujours. 
and, et. 

another, un autre (180). 
any, de with art. (95-7), en 

(145) : anyone, quelqu'un, ne 

. . . personne (244). 
appear, paraitre {irreg. 43). 
approach, s'approcher de. 
April, avril m. 
as, aussi: as ... as, aussi . . . 

que; as far as, jusqu'a; as for, 

quant a ; as much as, autant 

que. 
ashamed, be . . ., avoir honte 

(196). 
astonished, be . . ., s'etonner. 
at, a; en, dans : at the house or 

home of, chez : at once, tout 

de suite, 
await, attendre. 
away, go . . ., s'en aller. 



bad, mauvais. 

ball, bal m. 

be, etre (104-0); of weather, 
faire (228). 

beautiful, beau (114). 

because, parce que. 

bed, go to . . ., se coucher. 

before prep, avant ; conj. avant 
que. 

believe, croire (irreg. 18). 

big, grand. 

bliud, aveugle. 

book, livre m. 

borrow, emprunter (from, &). 

boy, garcon m. 

bread, pain m. 

breakfast v. dejeuner; subst. de- 
jeuner m. 

bring, apporter. 

brother, frere m. 

build, batir. 

but, mais. 

buy, acbeter. 

by, par, de. 

cake, gateau m. 

can, pouvoir (irreg. 49). 

chair, chaise/. 

change, changer. 

child, enfant, m. or f. 

choose, choisir. 

church, eglise /. 

city, ville /. 

clean, propre (112). 

cold, froid m. : be . . . , avoir 
froid (196) \ he ... (of the 
weather), faire froid (228&.) 
168 



VOCABULARY. 



169 



come, venir (irreg. 62, 228, 13): 
. . . near, s'approcher (to, 
de). 

constant, constant. 

constantly, constamment. 

country, pays m. 

cow, vache/. 

daughter, fille/. 

dayrjour m., journee/. 

dear, cher (112). 

die, mourir (irreg. 38). 

dine, diner. 

dinner, diner m. 

dint, by ... of, a force de. 

do, faire (irreg. 28). 

dress, robe/. 

drive . . . out, chasser. 

during, pendant. 

eat, manger. 

either, l'un ou l'autre: either . . . 
or, ou . . . ou ; nor . . . either, 
ni . . . non plus (246c). 

England, Angleterre/. 

enough, assez (92). 

Europe, Europe m. 

expect, attendre. 

expensive, cher (112). 

eye, ceil sing. y yeuxpl. m. 

family, famille/. 

father, pere m. 

fear, craindre v. (irreg. 17). 

fetch, cher cher. 

field, champ m. 

find, trouver. 

finish, finir. 

fire, feu m. 

flower, fleur / 

foot, pied m. 

for, pour, depuis. 

forbid, defendre. 

forest, foret/. 

forget, oublier. 

fortunately, heureusement. 

franc, franc m. 



France, France/, 
freeze, geler. 
friend, ami m., amie/. 
from, de. 
fruit, fruit m. 

garden, jardin m. 

gentleman, monsieur m. 

get up, se lever. 

girl, fille / 

give, donner : . . . back, rendre. 

glove, gant m. 

go, aller (irreg. 3. 228. 1) : . . . 
away, s'en aller ; ... to bed, 
se coucher ; be going to, aller 
(228. 1). 

God, Dieu m. 

good, bon. 

half adj. demi, demi- (129^) : 

half an hour, une demi- 

heure. 
hand, main/, 
happy, heureux, content. 
hardly, ne . . . guere $44). 
hat, chapeau m. 
hate, hair (208). 
have, avoir (186); as auxiliary, 

avoir or etre (195) : have 

done, faire (228. 10). 
he, il, lui. 
hear, entendre, 
her pron. la, lui, elle (134-40) ; 

poss. son. 
hers, sien. 

here, ici : . . . is, voici. 
high, haut. 
his, son, sien. 
history, histoire/. 
hold, tenir (irreg. 62). 
horse, cheval m. 
hour, heure/. 
house, maison/ 
how, comment : how much or 

how many, combien, que de 
(163c). 
however, quel . . . que (177). 



170 



ENGLISH-FRENCH 



hungry, be ... , avoir faiin 

(196). 
hunt, chasser. 

I, je, moi. 

if, si. 

ill, malade. 

impossible, impossible. 

in, en, dans (250), a (249), de 

(119c) : . . . town, a la 

ville. 
invite, inviter. 
it, il, elle ; le, la ; as indef. subj. , 

il, ce. 

July, juillet m. 
June, juin m. 

just, have . . ., venir de (228. 
13). 

king, roi m. 

kin du ess, bonte/. 

kingdom, royaume m. 

know, savoir (irreg. 55). (be 

acquainted with), connaitre 

(irreg. 43). 

lady, dame /. 

large, grand. 

lazy, paresseux. 

lead, mener. 

less, moins. 

letter, lettre/. 

life, vie/. 

like, aimer, vouloir (228. 15). 

little adj. petit ; adv. peu. 

live, vivre {irreg 64). 

long, long : no longer, ne . . . 
plus (244) ; a long time, long- 
temps. 

look, regarder : . . . for, cher- 
cher. 

lose, perdre. 

love, aimer. 

madam, madame /. 



make, faire {irreg. 28). 

man, homme m. 

many adv. beaucoup: how . . ., 
combien. 

master, maitre m. 

me, moi. 

meat, viande/. 

mine, mien. 

minute, minute/. 
1 mock, se moquer de. 
i money, argent m. 
\ month, mois m. 

more adv. plus ; no more, ne. . . 
plus; the more . . . the more, 
plus . . . plus (244). 

most, plus, le plus, with adjec- 
tive (115^). 

mother, mere/. 

much, beaucoup adv. 
j must, falloir {irreg. 29). 

my, mon, ma, mes. 

nation, nation/. 

naughty, mechant. 

near adj. prochain; prep, pres 

de. 
necessary, be ... , falloir (irreg. 

29). 
need, falloir (irreg. 29). 
never, jamais; with verb, ne. . . 

jamais (244). 
new, nouveau. 
newspaper, journal m. 
next, prochain adj. 
nine num. neuf. 
no, non; no longer, ne . . . plus. 
nor. ni ; neither . . . nor, ni . . . 

ni (245). 
not, ne . . . pas, ne . . . point 

(241); not at all, pas dutout. 
nothing rien,ne . . . rien (244). 
novel, roman m. 
now, maintenant. 

obey, obeir. 
o'clock, heure (1236). 
of, de. 



1 



VOCABULARY. 



171 



often, souvent. 

old, vieux, age; years old, age 

de. 
od, sur. 
one, un. 
only adv. seulement ; ne . . . que 

(244). 
or, ou. 

order, in . . . that, pour que. 
other, autre (180). 
ought, devoir (irreg. 22), 
our, notre. 
ours, notre. 

owe, devoir (irreg. 22). 
own, propre (112). 

paper, papier m. 

pencil, crayon m. 

people, peuple m. 

piece, moroeau m. 

plenty, assez adv. , 

poor, pauvre. 

possible, possible. 

pretty, joli. 

promise, promettre {irreg. 36). 

punish, punir. 

put, put on, mettre (irreg. 36). 

quarter, quart m.: quarter to, 
moins un quart; quarter past, 
et un quart (1236). 

queen, reine/. 

quickly, vite. 

read, lire (irreg. 34). 
receive, recevoir (irreg. 52). 
rejoice, se rejouir. 
return, come back, revenir 

(irreg. 62) ; give back, 

rendre. 
rich, riche. 

ridicule, se moquer de. 
right, be . . ., avoir raison 

(196). 
rise, se lever, 
room, chambre/. 
rose, rose/. 



say, dire (irreg. 23). 

school, ecole/. 

see, voir (irreg. 65). 

seek, chercher. 

seem, sembler. 

sell, vendre. 

send, envoyer (irreg. 26) ; . . . 

back, r envoyer (26). 
she, elle. 
sheep, brebis/. 
sick, malade. 
silk, soie /. 
silver, argent m. 
since prep, depuis; conj. depuii 

que. 
sir, monsieur m. 
sister, soeur/. 
six, six. 
sleepy, be ; . ., avoir sommeil 

(196) 
small, petit, 
snow, neiger. 
some, de with art. (95-97) ; 

en (145) ; some one, quel- 

qu'un. 
something, quelque chose. 
son, fils m. 
soon, bientot. 
speak, parler. 
still adv. encore. 
succeed, reussir. 

take, prendre (irreg. 50). 

talk, parler. 

tall, 'haut. 

task, tache/. 

teacher, maitre m. 

tell, dire (irreg. 23). 

than, que (118) ; de (125). 

that pron. ce, ce . . . la, celui, 
celui-la, cela ; relat. qui, que, 
lequel : all that, tout ce qui 
or que ; that which, ce qui or 
que. 

the, le, la, les. 

their, leur; theirs, le leur. 

them, les; to . . ., leur. 



172 



ENGLISH-FRENCH VOCABULARY. 



there adv. la, y (144(f) ; ... is ! 

or are, il y a (225), voila I 

(233). 
they, ils, elles. 
thing, chose. /. 
think, penser (of, a). 
this, ce, ce . . ci, celui, celui-ci ; 

this or that is, voici, voila 

(233). 
thou, tu. 
three, trois. 
thy, ton, ta, tes. 
time, temps m. 
to, a, en ; in order to, pour, 
to day, aujourdhui 
to-morrow, demain. 
too. aussi ; . . . much or many, 

trop. 
town, ville/. 
two, deux. 

uncle, oncle m. 
unfortunately, malheureuse- 

ment. 
unhappy, malheureux. 
unless, a moins que. 
until, jusqu'ace que. 
us, nous. 

velvet, velours m. 
very, tres. 
voice, voix /. 

want, vouloir {irreg. 66). 
warm, chaud; be . . .. avoir 

chaud ; {of the weather), faire 

chaud (228. 10). 
we, nous. 



well, bien. 

what adj. quel ; subst. qui, que, 

quoi (1636). ce qui or que 

(175a). 
whatever, quoi . . . que (177). 
when, quand. 
where, ou. 
whether, si (2666). 
which, quel, lequel; of which, 

dont (172). 
while, pendant que. 
white, blanc. 
who, whom, qui, (relat.) qui, 

que, lequel ; of whom, dont 

(172). 
why, pourquoi. 
wife, femme/. 
will, be willing, vouloir {irreg 

66), future of verb. 
wish, vouloir {irreg. 66). 
with, avec. 

without, sans, sans que. 
woman, femme/. 
wood, bois m. 
wooden, de bois. 
work, travailler. 
worse, worst, pire, le pire ; adv. 

pis, le pis. 
write, ecrire {irreg. 25). 

year, an m., annee/. 

yes. oui. 

yesterday, hier. 

yet, not . . ., pas encore. 

you, vous. 

young, jeune. 

your, votre 

yours, le votre. 



INDEX OF ALL IRREGULAR FRENCH VERBS, 
SIMPLE AND COMPOUND. 



The references are to the numbers in the table of irregular verbs, and refer 
each verb to the model verb like which it is conjugated. 



absoudre 


1 


circonscrire 


25 


cueillir 


20 


dire 


23 


abstenir 


62 


circonvenir 


62 


cuire 


12 


disconvenir 


62 


abstraire 


60 


clore 


10 






discourir 


15 


accourir 


15 


commettre 


36 


decevoir 


52 


dipjoindre 


33 


accroire 


18 


comparaitre 


43 


dechoir 


2L 


disparaitre 


43 


accroitre 


19 


complaire 


46 


declore 


10 


dissoudre 


1 


accueillir 


20 


comprendre 


50 


deconfire 


13 


distraire 


60 


acquerir 


2 


compromettre 36 


decoudre 


14 


dormir 


24 


admettre 


36 


concevoir 


52 


decouvrir 


16 


duire 


12 


advenir 


62 


conclure 


11 


decrire 


25 






aller 


3 


concourir 


15 


decroire 


18 


ebouillir 


7 


apercevoir 


52 


conduire 


12 


decroxtre 


19 


echoir 


21 


apparaitre 


43 


confire 


31 


dedire 


13 


eclore 


10 


appartenir 


62 


conjoindre 


33 


deduire 


12 


econduire 


12 


apprendre 


50 


oonnaitre 


43 


defaillir 


2? 


ecrire 


25 


assaillir 


4 


conquerir 


2 


defaire 


28 


elire 


34 


asseoir 


5 


consentir 


44 


dejoindre 


33 


emboire 


6 


astreindre 


45 


construire 


12 


dementir 


44 


emettre 


36 


atteindre 


45 


contenir 


62 


demettre 


36 


emoudre 


37 


attraire 


60 


contraindre 


17 


departir 


44 


emouvoir 


39 


avenir 


62 


contredire 


13 


depeindre 


45 


empreindre 


45 


avoir 


§186 


contrefaire 


28 


deplaire 


46 


enceindre 


45 






contrevenir 


62 


depourvoir 


48 


enclore 


10 


boire 


6 


convaincre { 


^210 


desapprendre 


50 


encourir 


15 


bouiilir 


7 


convenir 


62 


desservir 


56 


endormir 


24 


braire 


60 


coudre 


14 


deteindre 


45 


enduire 


12 


bruire 


8 


courir 


15 


detenir 


62 


enfreindre 


45 






couvrir 


16 


detruire 


12 


enfuir 


31 


ceindre 


45 


craindre 


17 


devenir 


62 


enjoindre 


33 


choir 


21 


croire 


18 


devetir 


63 


enquerir 


2 


circoncire 


9 


croitre 


19 


devoir 


22 


ensuivre 
173 


58 



174 INDEX OF ALL IRREGULAR FRENCH VERBS. 



entreprendre 

entretenir 

entrevoir 

entr'ouvrir 

envoyer 

epreindre 

eprendre 

equivaloir 

eteindre 

etre 

etreindre 

exclure 

extraire 

faillir 

faire 

falloir 

feindre 

forclore 

forfaire 

frire 

fuir 



geindre 

gesir 

hair 



joindre 

lire 

luire 



50 
62 
65 
16 
26 
45 
50 
61 
45 

45 
11 
60 



27 
28 
29 
45 
10 
28 
30 
31 

45 
32 

§208 

imboire 6 

induire 12 

inscrire 25 

instruire 12 

interdire 13 

intervenir 62 

introduire 12 



33 

34 
41 



messeoir 

mettre 

moudre 

mourir 

mouvoir 



5 

86 
37 
38 
39 



maintenir 62 

malfaire 28 

maudire 35 

meconnaitre 43 

medire 13 

mefaire 28 

mentir 44 

meprendre 50 



naitre 


40 


nuire 


41 


obtenir 


62 


offrir 


16 


oindre 


33 


omettre 


36 


ouir 


42 


ouvrir 


16 


paitre 


43 


paraitre 


43 


parcourir 


15 


parfaire 


28 


partir 


44 


parvenir 


62 


peindre 


45 


percevoir 


52 


permettre 


36 


plaindre 


17 


plaire 


46 


pleuvoir 


47 


poindre 


33 


poursuivre 


58 


pourvoir 


48 


pouvoir 


49 


predire 


13 


prendre 


50 


prescrire 


25 


pressentir 


44 


prevaloir 


61 


prevenir 


62 


prevoir 


51 


produire 


12 


promettre 


36 


promouvoir 


39 


proscrire 


25 


provenir 


62 


querir 


2 


rapprendre 


50 


rasseoir 


5 



ratteindre 

reboire 

rebouillir 

recevoir 

reclure 

reconduire 

reconnaitre 

reconquerir 

reconstruire 

recoudre 

recourir 

recouvrir 

recrire 

recroitre 

recueillir 

recuire 

redevenir 

redevoir 

redire 

redormir 

reduire 

reelire 

refaire 

rej oindre 

relire 

remettre 

reluire 

remoudre 

rendormir 

renaitre 

rentraire 

renvoyer 

repaitre 

repartir 

repeindre 

repentir 

reprendre 

requerir 

resoudre 

ressentir 

ressortir 

res souvenir 

restreindre 

reteindre 

retenir 

retraire 

revaloir 



45 

6 

7 

52 

11 

12 

43 

2 

12 

14 

15 

16 

25 

19 



revenir 

revetir 

revivre 

revoir 

rire 

rouvrir 



satisfaire 

savoir 

secourir 

seduire 

sentir 

seoir 

servir 
20 i sortir 
12 souffrir 
go soumettre 

22 sourire 

23 | souscrire 

24 soustraire 
12 soutenir 
34 ! souvenir 

subvenir 

suffire 

suivre 

surcroitre 

surfaire 

surprendre 

surseoir 

survenir 

survivre 



28 
33 
34 



41 
37 
24 
40 
60 
26 
43 
44 
45 
44 
50 
2 

53 
44 
44 
62 
45 
45 
62 
60 
61 



taire 

teindre 

tenir 

traduire 

traire 

transcrire 

transmettre 

tressaillir 

vaincre 

valoir 

venir 

vetir 

vivre 

voir 

vouloir 



62 
63 
64 
65 
54 
16 

28 
55 
15 
12 
44 

5 
56 
44 
16 
36 
54 
25 
60 
62 
62 
62 
57 
58 
19 
28 
50 

5 
62 
64 

59 
45 
62 
12 
60 
25 
36 
4 

§210 
61 
62 
63 
64 
65 
66 



INDEX. 



The references are to sections, not to pages. 



accent of a word, 10. 

accent marks, 5-9 : — see also 
acute, grave, and circumflex. 

acute accent, 5, 15-21. 

adjectives, 104-119; agreement 
of, 104 ; comparison of, 115- 
119 ; feminine of, 105-108 ; 
gender of, 104-109 ; modified 
by nouns with preposition, 
114; used as noun, 113; 
plural of, 109; position of, 
110-112 ; difference of mean- 
ing, 112c ; used as adverbs, 
240. 

adverbs, 229-247; from ad- 
jectives, 235-238 ; adjectives 
used as, 240 ; comparison 
of, 238-9 ; position of, 234 ; 
of quantity, 92; of negation, 
241-247. 

alphabet, 1-3. 

apostrophe, 8: for e mute, 22c. 

articles, 75-84; indefinite, 79; 
omission of, 82; definite ar- 
ticle, gender of, 76-77; eli- 
sion of the vowel of, 78; 
contracted with de and a, 
83-84; with proper names, 
103; with superlative, 115a, 
119; used with partitive 
noun, 95-97; with abstract 
or inclusive nouns, 101; used 
instead of possessive, 150a. 



auxiliary verbs, 184, 195; of 
passives, 21 la; of reflexives, 
217; vouloir, used as, 228. 
155. 

capitals, use of, 3. 

cardinal numerals, 120-125; 
used for ordinals, 128. 

cedilla, 6. 

circumflex accent, 5. 

comparison, of adjectives, 115- 
119; of adverbs, 238-239. 

conjunctions, 255-257; follow- 
ed by subjunctive, 272; fol- 
lowed by ne, 2476; que used 
for other, 257. 

dates, expression of, 123a. 

dative case, represented by 
noun with a, 88; dative pro- 
nouns, 135-137; dative of 
characterization, 94. 

demonstratives, 153-158; dem. 
adjectives, 153-54; dem. pro- 
nouns. 155-158. 

diaeresis 7. 

diphthongs, 28-33. 

division of syllables, 4. 

feminine, of nouns, 73; of ad- 
jectives, 105-108. 
j first conjugation of verbs, 200; 
1 irregularities of, 201-206. 

175 



176 



INDEX. 



fourth conjugation of verbs, 
sometimes so called, 198a. 

gender, of adjectives, 104-109; 
of articles, 76-77; of nouns, 
72-73. 

genitive case, expressed by 
noun with de, 87; represent- 
ed by en, 143-45; genitive of 
apposition, 93. 

gn, pronunciation of, 49. 

grave accent, 5; with e, 15-21. 

h, pronunciation of, 50. 
hyphen, 9; with numerals, 
122a. 

imperative, 187c, 275; subjunc- 
tive used as, 1886. 

impersonal verbs, 222-226 ; 
agreement of participle in 
compound tenses of, 283c. 

inclusive sense of noun, 101- 
102. 

indefinite pronouns. 178-182. 

indicative mode, formation of 
tenses, 187; use of tenses of, 
263-267. 

indirect object, pronoun forms 
for, 135-137; direct object 
made indirect, 261, 228. 66. 
represented by y, 143:— see 
also dative. 

infinitive, 276-283; sign of, 
189, 277-80; used as noun, 
1896; after aller, 228. 16; 
after croire, 228. 2; after 
faire, 228. 66; after venir, 
228. 13. 

interrogatives, adjectives, 159- 
60; pronouns, 161-66; form 
of interrog. sentence, 133, 
192-93, 165; paraphrase for, 
166. 

irregular verbs, 227-228 ; table 
of, 227 ; idiomatic uses of, 
228; of first conjugation, 
201-206. 



1, liquid pronunciation of, 54. 
linking of final consonants 
(liaison), 68-70. 

masculine, see gender, 
material, expression of, 90. 
measure, expression of, 91-92. 
mute e, 14. 

nasal vowels, pronunciation of, 
34-41. 

negative conjugation, 241-42; 
verb negatived by ne alone, 
243, 247; other negative ex- 
pressions, 244-47; sans treat- 
ed like a negative. 251. 

nouns, gender of, 72-73; plu- 
ral of, 8") ; case relations ex- 
pressed by de, 87, by a, 88; 
partitive noun, 95-100; in- 
clusive noun, 101-102; proper 
nouns, 103. 

numerals, 120-129; cardinals, 
120-125; ordinals, 126-129; 
cardinals for ordinals, 128; 
for fractional s, 129; plural 
of numerals, 121. 

object of verb, two direct ob- 
jects uot allowed. 1376, 261; 
verbs requiring de or a before 
object, 262; direct object 
after pouvoir, 228.10: — see 
also indirect object. 

object-pronouns, 134; position 
of, 136-137. 

ordinals, 126-29. 

participles, present participle, 
190, 284; with en, 190c; past 
participle, 191, 285; agree- 
ment with antecedent of rel- 
ative, 1686. 

partitive sense of noun, 95-100; 
article omitted before, 97- 
98 ; represented by en, 145. 

passive verbs, 211-213; sub- 
stitutes for, 214, 



INDEX. 



177 



personal pronouns, 130-145; 
conjunctive, 131-37; dis- 
junctive, 138-141 ; subject, 
132-33; object, 134-37; used 
in address, 132a; reflexive, 
142; en and y, 143-45; le as 
predicate after etre, 14(te. 

possessive case, see genitive. 

possessives, adjectives, 146-50; 
pronouns, 151-2; article used 
instead of, 150a. 

prepositions. 248-54; with in- 
finitive, 277-82. 

principal parts of verb, 199. 

pronouns, see personal, posses- 
sive, relative, etc. 

pronunciation, of names of let- 
ters, 2; of consonants, 42-67; 
of vowels, 11-41; of nasal 
vowels, 34-41. 

proper names, 103. 

reflexive verbs, 215-21; pro- 
nouns, 142. 

relative pronouns, 167-77 ; 
never omitted in French, 
176. 

second conjugation, 207-8. 

subject of verb, 258-60; agree- 
ment of verb with two sub- 
jects, 258; subject repeated 
by pronoun, 259; subj. of 
infinitive following falloir 
made indirect, 228. 76; im- 
personal subj. with any verb, 
224. 



subject pronoun, 132-3; posi- 
tion of, 133; in interrog. 
sentence, 192; two pronoun 
subjects, 141. 

subjunctive mode, 188, 267- 
76; dependent on conjunc- 
tions, 272; on falloir, 228. 
la ; after qui ... que, etc., 
177; ne with dependent 
subj., 247a, b. 

superlative, use of article with, 
115a, 119a, b. 

tenses of indicative, 263-7. 
third regular conjugation, 209; 

irregularities of, 210. 
time, expressed by il y a, etc., 

225c ; time of day, expression 

of, 1236. 
transitive and intransitive 

verbs, 195, 262. 

verbs, simple forms of, 183, 
187; compound forms of, 
184-5; principal parts of, 
199; made negative, 241-47; 
three conjugations of, 198; 
irregular, 2*^7-8 : — see also 
under auxiliaries, passive, 
reflexive, impersonal, names 
of modes, subject, etc. 

vowels, pronunciation of, 11- 
41. 

weather, faire with expres- 
sions of, 228. 6a; imper- 
sonal verbs of, 222. 



